FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY  HIM  TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Sec!  lLf^>^^ 


JULY,  184 

A  LIST  OF  BOOKS 

RECENTLY    PUBLISHED    BY 

JAMES   MUNROE   AND   COMPANY, 

134  €£Jast)fnflton,  ©aposfte  School  Street, 
BOSTON, 

AND      LYCEUM      BUILDING,      CAMBRIDGE. 


POETRY,  &C 


♦ — 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON.     Poems.     In  one  vol- 

ume,  16mo.    Fourth  edition,  pp.  251.   Price  87  cents, 
ii. 

CHARLES  T.  BROOKS.    Homage  of  the  Arts,  with 

.llaneocs  Pieces  from  Ruchert,  Freiligrath,  and  other  Ger- 
man Poets.    In  one  volume,  IGmo.  pp.  158.     Price  62  cents. 

in. 

EPES  SARGENT.     Songs  of  the  Sea,  with  Other 

Poems.    In  one  volume,  16mo.  pp.  208. 

IV. 

WILLIAM   ELLERY   CHANNING.      Poems,  First 

and  Second  Series.     Price  62  cents  each, 
v. 

VERSES  OF  A  LIFE-TIME,  by  Caroline  Gilman. 

IGmo      In  Press. 

VI. 

JOHN  PIERPONT.     Airs  of  Palestine,  with  Other 

Poems.     In  one  volume,  IGmo.     Steel  Plate,     pp.350.     Price  $1.00. 

VII. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  and  OTHER  POEMS,  by 

William  B.  Tappax.    IGmo.     Illuminated  Title. 


2  A  LIST  OF  BOOKS  RECENTLY  PUBLISHED 

VIII. 

GOETHE  AND  SCHILLER.     Select  Minor  Poems. 

Translated  from  the  Germun,  with  Notes.  By  John  S.  Dwight.  16mo* 
pp.460.     Price  $1.00. 

IX. 

ESSAYS.     By  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.     First  and 

Second  Series.  Fourth  Edition.  Revised.  16mo.  pp.  each  350.  Piice 
75  cents.     Either  volume  sold  separate. 

x. 

CHARLES  T.  BROOKS.  Songs  and  Ballads.  Trans- 

lated  from  Uhland,  Korner,  Burger,  and  other  German  Lyric  Poets. 
With  Notes.  12mo.  pp.  410.    Price  $1.00. 

XI. 

CHARLES  T.  BROOKS.     William  Tell,  a  Drama, 

in  Five  Acts,  from  the  German  of  Schiller.  One  volume,  12mo 
pp.  120.    Price  62  cents. 

XII. 

SCHILLER'S   WALLENSTEIN.      Wallenstein's 

Camp.  Translated  from  the  German  of  Schiller,  by  George  Moir. 
With  a  Memoir  of  Albert  Wallenstein,  by  G.  W.  Haven.  16mo. 
pp.  142.     Price  50  cents. 

XIII. 

HENRY  TAYLOR.   Phillip  Van  Artevelde,  a  Dra- 

matic  Romance.    In  one  volume,  lfimo.  pp.  252.    Price  $1.00. 

XIV. 

STEPHEN  G.  BULFINCH.     Lays  of  the  Gospel. 

One  volume,  16mo.  pp.  206.    Price  75  cents, 
xv. 

GOETHE'S   EGMONT.      Egmont,   a   Tragedy   in 

Five  Acts.  Translated  from  the  German.  I6mo.  pp.  152.  Price  3b  cents. 
XVI. 

THE  BONDMAID.     Translated  from  the  Swedish  by 

Mrs.  Putnam      One  volume,  16mo.  pp.  112.    Price  50  cents. 
XVII. 

LYDIA  H.  SIGOURNEY.     Pleasant  Memories  of 

Pleasant  Lands.    Two  Steel  Plates.    16mo.pp.  382.    Price  $1.25. 

XVIII. 

LYDIA  H.  SIGOURNEY.      Scenes  in  my  Native 

Land.    Two  Steel  Plates.     16mo.  pp.  320.    Price  $1  25. 


BY  JAMES  HUNROfi  AND  Company. 


TRANSLATIONS. 


i. 
ESSAYS  ON  ART.     Translated  from  the  German  of 

ik,    by   S.vmikl   Gray    Wakd.     Oho    volume,    lbmo.    p] 
Price  7 j  cents. 


WALT  AND  VULT,  or  THE  TWINS.     Translated 

from  the   German   of  Jean  Pail    Kumiter,   by  IftBB.   T.  Lee.     Two 
volumes,  lGino.  pp.  3*20.     Price  $1.1)0  each. 


FLOWER,   FRUIT,   AND   THORN   PIECES;   Or 

the  Harried  Lot,  Death  and  Wkdoeno  ok  the  Advocate  of  hie 

Poor,  FIKM1N  BTANI8LAUS  SIEBENKAS.  Translate.!  from  the 
German  of  Jean  PaDX  RlOHTBB,  by  Kiiwaiid  1Ikm;v  NoBta  Two 
volumes,  lilmo.  First  "series,  pp.  *J43.  Second  Series,  pp.  400.  Price 
$1.00  each. 

IV. 

PHILOSOPHICAL    MISCELLANIES.       Translated 

from  the  French  of  Cousin,  Jouffhoy,  and  B.  Constant.  With  Intro- 
ductory and  Critical  .Notices.  By  George  Ripley.  Two  volumes, 
12mo.  pp.  7=4.    Price  §1.00  each. 


SELECT  MINOR  POEMS.  Translated  from  the  Ger- 

man  of  Goethe  and  Schiller,  with  Notes.  By  John  S.  DwiOHT. 
One  volume,  limo.  pp.  400.     Price  $1.00. 

TX. 

ECKERMAN'S    CONVERSATIONS.       Conversa- 

tion.s  with  Goethe  in  the  Last  Years  of  his  Liie.  Translated 
from  the  Geiman  by  25.  M.  Fuller.  One  volume,  l^mo.  pp.  440. 
Price  §1.00. 

VII. 

INTRODUCTION  TO  ETHICS.     Including  a  Criti- 

cal  Survey   of   Moral  Translated   from   the   French   of 

Jouffkoy,  by  William  H.  Channing.  Two  volumes,  lJmo.  pp.  739. 
Price  §1.00  each. 


GERMAN    LITERATURE.      Translated    from   the 
IIbxzbl,  by  CoKirsuoi  I 

volumes,  l-'ino.  pp.  1179.     Price  §1.00  each. 


JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


THEODORE,  or  THE  SCEPTIC'S  CONVERSION. 

History  op  the  Culture  of  a  Protestant  Clergyman.  Translated 
from  the  German  of  De  Wette,  by  James  F.  Clarke.  Two  volumes, 
12mo.  pp.  793.    Price  $1.00  each. 


HUMAN  LIFE  ;  or  Lectures  on  Practical  Ethics. 

Translated  from  the  German  of  De  Wette,  by  Samuel  Osgood.  Two 
volumes,  12mo.  pp.  800.    Pri^e  $1.00  each. 


SONGS  AND  BALLADS  from  Uhland,  Korner,  Bur- 

ger,  and  other  Lyric  Poets.     Translated  from  the  German,  with  Notes, 
by  Charles  T.  Brooks.    One  volume  12mo.  pp.  360.    Price  $1.00. 


THE  NEIGHBORS.  By  Frederika  Bremer.  Trans- 
lated by  Mary  Howitt.  Two  volumes,  12mo.  pp.  488.  Price  50  cents 
each. 


GERMAN  ROMANCE.    Specimens  of  Its  Chief  Au- 

thors  ;  with  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices.    By  Thomas  Carlyle. 
Two  volumes,  12mo.  Steel  Portrait,  pp.791.    Price  $1.50. 


XIV. 

GUIZOT'S  ESSAY.     Essay  on  the  Character  and 

Influence  of  Washington  in  the  Revolution  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  Translated  from  the  French  by  George  S. 
Hillard.     One  volume,  lGmo.  pp.  204.   Price  50  cents. 


THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  MY  LIFE.   A  Sketch.   By 

Hans  Christian  Anderson.    Translated  by  Mary  Howitt.    16mo. 
pp.  306.    Price  62  cents. 


HEINE'S  LETTERS.     Letters  Auxiliary  to  the  His- 

tory  of  Modern  Polite  Literature  in  Germany.     Translated  from    the 
German  by  G.  W.  Haven.    One  volume  16mo.  pp.  172.    Price  50  cents. 


V 


^OFW^ 


" 

K  oct  11  m:\ 

THE 

SUNDAY 

SCHOOL 

AND 

OTHER 

POEMS. 



BY    WILLIAM 

// 
B.    TAPPAN. 

BOSTON*    AND 

CAMBRIDGE: 

JAMES    MUX ROE 

AND    COMPANY. 

MDCCCXLVIII. 

.« 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1848, 

By  WILLIAM  BINGHAM  TAPPAN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED   BY   B.    N.    DICKINSON,   BOSTON. 


The  m  Sunday  School  and  Other  Poems,"  is 
the  fourth  and  concluding  volume  of  a  series,  embracing 
my  revised  Poems;  of  which,  "Poetry  of  the  Heart," 
u  Sacred  and  Miscellaneous  Poems,"  and  "Poetry 
of  Life,"  are  the  first,  second,  and  third. 


INDEX   OF  SUBJECTS 


PACK. 

Alexander  Henry. 

Aspiration?  in  the  Pulpit, 236 

Beverly, » 156 

Bible, 190 

Barman's  Question. 113 

By  whom  of  all  thy  chosen.  Lord. 245 

Castaway. 115 

Chinese  Lady. 148 

Cholera.  —  in  prospect  of  its  second  invasion, 138 

Deaf  and  Dumb. 193 

December. 187 

Flagstaff. 224 

Freedom's  Hymn,  for  the  Fourth  of  July, 89 

Girard  College.  Philadelphia, 96 

Go  !  Dream  of  by-past  Hours, 239 

G .  an  advocate  for  Temperance,  who.  by  conspiracy,  was  deceived 

into  a  temporary  relapse, 232 

Grace  and  Position, 

Harriet  Newell. 180 

Hymn.  —  sung  by  the  Congregation  of  Pine  Street  Church,  Boston, 

May  14.  1848, 222 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


PAGE. 

Hymn  of  Welcome,  —  on  the  return  of  a  Pastor  from  Europe  and 

Asia, 107 

Hymn,  —  sung  at  the  Celebration  of  the  Leland  Family,  at  Sherburne,  109 
Hymn,  —  sung  at  the  Installation  of  ReT.  S.  Hutchins,  late  Missionary 

to  India  ;  at  South  Brookfield,  Mass.  Sept.  15,  1847, 133 

Hymn  for  the  Millennium, 219 

Invocation, 247 

J A , 123 

John  Eliot,  of  Roxbury, 198 

La  Lanterne  vs.  La  Guillotine, 151 

Lazarus, 181 

L e  A F , 125 

Lines,  —  on  receiving  from  the  author  a  copy  of  "  Scenes  in  the  Holy 

Land, 173 

Looking  to  the  Cross  —  Looking  to  Jesus, 129 

Lucy  Ann,  at  Sixteen,  ••• 240 

Millennial  Morn !  thy  rosy  beams, 244 

Mother, 204 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  Van  Lennep,  —  on  reading  her  Memoir  by  her  Mother,  •  111 

My  Children, 93 

0  Stars  ! 105 

Ordination  Hymn, 131 

Parting  Hymn,  —  sung  by  the  Pupils  of  Phillips  Academy,  Andover, 

at  the  Annual  Examination,  1847, 87 

Poet, 213 

Portents, 209 

Prayer  for  a  Son  at  Sea, 159 

Presbyterian, 197 

Psalm  of  Remembrance, 175 

Queen  Victoria's  Fancy  Dress  Ball, 216 

Religion  and  Rum, 242 

Retrospective, 185 

Rev.  Messrs.  Dr.  B and  G ,  of  England, 145 

Rev.  Paul  Couch,  of  Newburyport, 201 


imh.x  of  bubje<  rs.  mi 

PAGE. 

Sapphic  for  Thanksgiving, 

Silent  Street, 80 

Sin. 



Stanias. 14:j 

Strange  Things. 

Sunday  School, 13 

Take  Wings ! 205 

Temperance  Jubilee  Hymn, 230 

t;  That  is  able  to  keep  you  from  Falling,'* 74 

To  a  Deaf  and  Dumb  Girl. 91 

Traits  of  Nature. 164 

True  Science. 288 

Two  Ships. 77 

Unspoken  at  Sea, 169 

Vers*-*, — occasioned  by  the  imprisonment  of  Rev.  G C , 

at  the  suit  of  a  Kum-discilling  Deacon. 228 

Terses  —  written  after  hearing  the  Speeches  in  Faneuil  Hall,  on  a  late 

Anniversary  occasion, 139 

Toice  of  the  Sea, 118 

Waiting  for  the  Grave. 85 

What  shall  we  have  ? l'J9 

When  Morning  breaks  upon  the  Night, 135 

Which  J 208 

Bald,  —  on  seeing  his  remains  in   their  resting-place  at   Xew- 

buryport,  Mass.,  Sept.  11,  1837, 189 

Winter. 127 

Ye  Spirits  of  the  Just  that  Soar, 83 


INDEX  OF  FIRST   LINES. 


PAGE. 

A  Mother's  Love  —  how  great  that  Love, 204 

And  this   was  Whitefield, 189 

A  Vessel  on  the  Deeps, 77 

"  Away  to  the  Lanterne," 151 

Bethany  !  on  thy  site,  as  travellers  tell,  •  •  •  • : 181 

By  whom  of  all  thy  chosen,  Lord, 245 

Child !  remember  thy  Creator,  175 

Could  I  name  every  curious  root, 238 

Farewell,  December !  cheerless  as  thou  art, 187 

Go !  dream  of  by-past  hours, 239 

He  sat  with  men  whose  high  debate, 67 

He,  who  recalled  from  Gentile  lands, 133 

His  current  name  that  graced  for  years  a  Bank, 96 

His  Ministers,  as  fiery  flames, 131 

How  blessed  the  heir,  unvexed  by  trouble,  143 

How  many,  that  a  few  months  since, 185 


INDEX    OF    FIRST    LINES. 


PAUL 

I  grieve  not  Heaven  to  thee  denies, 91 

I  knew  her  not ;  —  a  fountain  here, Ill 

I  marvel  at  thy  curious  mien, 148 

Immortal  Sin.  of  heavenly  birth ! 249 

In  Boston  is  a   street  —  about  a  rod, 80 

I  sing  of  her  whom  Heaven  has  called  to  win, 13 

Men.  crossing  the  blue  wave,  have  told, 113 

Millennial  Morn  !  thy  rosy  beams,   244 

My  God.  do  lips  wake  martial  story, 209 

>  er  goes  up  this  Sabbath  morn, 169 

-    Iream  pursueth  me  by  day, 166 

Not  so '  in  unambitious  day, 197 

0  Book !  that  bright  and  burning  Day, 190 

0  God  of  Bethel !  from  thy  hands. 109 

0  God,  to  Thee,  from  whom  so  long. 219 

0  Jesus,  while  implores. 236 

O  Saviour  I  Thou  I  the  Hope  and  Stay. 224 

Oh  Stars !  upon  the  brow  of  night, 105 

On  this  ••  broad  platform  *'  grimly  stand. 139 

u  Scenes  in  the  Holy  Land !  "  and  I  have  walked 173 

She  has  gone  from  our  sight, 125 

•  iy  throne.  Imperial  Dame, 216 

Stranger !  that  in  this  Isle-of- France, 180 

Take  wings !  take  wings !  and  seek  the  lost, 205 

Temptation,  toil  and  suffering  here, 70 

-  able  to  keep  me.  an  ignorant  child. 74 

That  thou  wast  loved,  and  still  hast  part. 222 

The  Christian  flouts  the  turbaned  Turk. Ml 

The  dying  Papist  cUsps  the  Cross, 129 


INDEX    OF    FIRST    LINES. 


PAGE. 

The  flames  advance  with  sweeping  stride, 164 

The  fool,  who  counts  by  millions  yellow  wealth, 123 

The  man  whose  affliction  his  fellow  had  been, 201 

Then  Peter  said  to  Jesus,  "  All  we  've  left," 199 

The  patriot  sires  in  glory  sleep, 89 

There  are,  who  leaving  house  and  lands, 198 

The  sinner  says  :    "  Let  Evil  rule," 208 

"  The  Soul,  immortal  as  its  Sire," 107 

The  waves  of  passion  may  be  stayed, 118 

They  say  't  is  dangerous  to  ascend, 234 

They  've  thrust  him  in  the  inner  cell, 228 

Thou  'st  snatched  the  youth  from  Ruin's  grave, 116 

'T  is  strange  that  I  should  plant  or  build, 195 

Victim  of  malice  —  not  of  lust, 232 

Wearied  with  play,  that  night,  my  sweet  first-born, 85 

We  ask  Thee  not,  0  God !   to  bow, 247 

What  boots  it  that  yon  green  hill-side,    230 

When  evil  and  good  were  in  Eden  discovered, 87 

When  morning  breaks  upon  the  night, 135 

When  the  old  Fathers  of  New  England, 97 

While  opens,  Lucy  Ann,  on  you, 240 

Why  do  n't  one  of  the  thousand  ships, •  •  ■  169 

Winter !  there  are  among  the  race  of  men. 127 

With  what  a  calm  and  self-confiding  gait, 138 

Ye  are  alive  to  bliss,  my  boys ! 93 

Ye  cultivated  minds,  that  know, 193 

Ye  spirits  of  the  Just,  that  soar, 83 

Yet  no  true  Poet  would  resign, 213 

Ye  've  sought  our  Western  shore, 145 

Yon  starry  world  hath  them  received, 156 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 


THE  SUNDAY   SCHOOL. 


I  sing  of  her  whom  Heaven  has  called  to  win 
Renown  from  conflict  and  a  world  from  sin  ; 
"Whose  name  inspire?  affection  and  respect ; 
"Whose  firm,  yet  quiet  influence  has  checked 
The  rising  floods  of  ignorance  and  shame  : 
A  victor,  where  the  spoils  are  more  than  fame ; 
A  friendly  beacon  on  the  dangerous  a 
"Where  ships  are  wrecked  and  mariners  are  lost  ; 
A  blessed  star  that  watches  o'er  the  way 
Where  perils  wait,  and  heedless  travellers  stray  ; 
The  powerful  empress  of  persuasive  rule  — 
The  unassuming,  noble  Sunday  School ! 
■2 


14  THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

The  glorious  Gospel  follows  where  the  ban 
Pursues  his  step  and  rests  on  sinning  man ; 
The  Gospel  streams  in  rich  abundance  flow, 
Whose  tides  can  change  his  crimson  into  snow ; 
The  Gospel's  trump  proclaims  deliverance  nigh 
For  souls  appointed  in  their  guilt  to  die ; 
The  Gospel  breaks  the  sighing  prisoner's  chain, 
And  pours  its  balm  on  every  mental  pain ; 
By  various  methods  is  its  knowledge  spread, 
By  various  calls  it  wakes  the  sleeping  dead ; 
The  Pulpit  speaks,  and  argument  has  power 
To  rouse  the  moments  of  a  careless  hour ; 
In  fireside  talk  the  little  child  is  stirred 
By  some  fond,  faithful  Mother's  gentle  word;  — 
And  hearts  are  moulded  to  the  happy  rule 
Of  true  religion  in  the  Sunday  School. 

The  Sunday  School!  —  In  Puritanic  times, 
The  days  of  Dilworth  and  of  nursery  rhymes, 
When  fancy  yielded  to  the  Dreamer's  art, 
And  I  to  Bunyan  freely  gave  my  heart, 
And  early  read,  and,  sleepless,  studied  late, 
To  reach  with  Christian  the  celestial  gate, 
And  helped  him  as  I  could  in  doubtful  strife, 
And  battled  Death,  to  gain  Eternal  Life, — 


THE     SUNDAY     SCHOOL.  15 

Fought)  M  the  Pilgrim  fought,  incarnate  Sin, 
And  stubbed  the  fiend  Apollyon   with  a  pin, — 
Surveyed  the  black,  strong  currents  with  a  shiver, 
Yet  heard  the  notes  from  golden  trumpets  quiver, 
And  wished  I  too  were  past  the  deep  cold  river ! 
Or,  pondering  o'er  the  Primer's  rude  designs, 
I  learned  by  heart  the  Primer's  ruder  lines, 
And  wept  John  Roger's  doom  —  the  best  of  men  — 
Yet  wondered  if  his  babes  were  nine  or  ten  !  — 
Or  drew  swreet  fictions — just  like  simple  facts  — 
From  Hannah  More's  Repository  Tracts,  — 
Of  Giles  the  Poacher,  Tawney  Rachel's  reign, 
And  the  good  Shepherd  of  the  Salisbury  Plain, — 
Or,  as  the  Sabbath  hours  began  to  fail, 
Threw  books  aside,  and  begged  a  Bible  tale 
Of  her,  who  never  could  my  suit  deny, 
"Who  watched  me  with  a  mother's  heart  and  eye  — 
I  say.  in  Puritanic  times  't  was  thought      [nought, 
When  God,  the  Builder,  called  the  earth  from 
He  made  the  Sabbath,  and  ordained  it  "  Blest ! " 
And  then  made  Adam  for  the  Day  of  Rest 

"  Children  of  parents,  passed  into  the  skies ! " 
Regard  me  not  with  stern  or  doubtful  eyes ; 
Reverence  for  them  I  lessen  not  in  you  — 


16  THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Those  martexts  were  the  Pharisaic  few. 
"The  Sabbath  Day  is  wisely  made  for  man," 
Our  fathers  said :  "  Yet,"  said  the  Puritan : 
"Other  than  worship  for  the  meeting  hours, 
"And  books  at  home,  be  far  from  us  and  ours! 
"  Other  than  conning  catechetic  lines, 
"  Drawn  by  the  good  Assembly  of  Divines, 
"And  sitting  still,  the  long  and  solemn  Day, 
"Eschewing  naughty  Cheerfulness  alway, : — 
"  By  children  practised,  will  insult  His  claims, 
"Whose  Law  is  guarded  by  a  thousand  flames." 

Forgive  their  error!  —  ours,  that  differs  wide, 
Leans  not,  too  often,  to  Religion's  side. 
Blessed  was  the  spirit  of  that  olden  time  ! 
Sundays  were  ladders  for  the  soul  to  climb, 
"When  she  would  scale  and  leap  the  crystal  gates, 
Where  Love  to  crown  the  bold  invader  waits. 
In  the  aroma  of  these  riper  hours 
We  merge  the  sweetness  of  those  early  flowers. 
Will  children,  now,  peruse  the  lines  of  grace 
Where  children  read  them,  in  a  Mother's  face  ? 
Will  she  resume  inalienable  rule, 
Unwisely  yielded  to  the   Sunday  School  ? 
Again  invite  her  offspring  to  her  side, 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  17 

And  print  on  yielding  hearts  the  Crucified? 

With  pleasant   words,  celestial  truths  instill, 
That  mould  Affection,  Intellect,  and  Will? 
The  words,  in  lolly's  path,  forgotten  never !  — 
The  truths  that  live,  in  spite  of  sin,  forever!  — 
Why  look  abroad  for  precept  that  has  birth, 
Where  God  ordained  it,  at  the  sacred  hearth? 
Why  send  the  little  wanderers  out  for  store 
Of  flowers  that  climb  and  nestle  round  your  door? 
I         marts  and  lips,  though,  prophet-like,  they  glow 
With  living  tin",  a  Parent's  ardor  know? 
May  one.  endued  with  super-human  grace 
To  lead  immortals,  take  the  Mother's  place? 
The  Sunday  School !  —  I  will  not  yield  her  claim 
To  shine  with  others  of  exalted  name, 
That,  as  bright  beams,  are  glancing  round  the  world, 
Dispersing  Error  where  its  cloud  is  curled ; 

.  as  the  myriad  drops  of  morning  dew, 
Should  Sunday  Schools  in  number  rise  to  view. 
Studding  the  city  like  the  starry  gem<,  — 
Blazing  where  forests  wear  their  diadems, — 
Investing  frozen  Labrador  with  charms, — 
Soothing,  forever,   China's  rude  alarms, — 
Sprinkling  with  grace  imperial  Rangoon, — 
Blessing  with  freedom  Africa's  Wednoon, — 


18 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


And  in  barbaric  uttermost  Japan, 

Transforming  devilish  cannibals  to  Man, — 

And  causing  wilderness  and  prairie  here, 

To  bloom  with  roses  as  the  sweet  Cashmere, — 

My  aspiration  would  be,  "  Let  them  die ! 

Their  very  name  in  deep  oblivion  lie! 

If,  at  the  cost  of  Home's  instruction  fed, 

They  lift,  like  parasites,  unworthy  head, 

And  basely  thrive  upon  the  Children's  Bread ! "  * 

Lo  !  the  fair  gardens  of  the  Church  invite 

His  gracious  step  whose  path  is  tracked  in  light. 

Awake,  0  North  Wind !  —  Come,  thou  South !  and 

That  fragrant  spices  may  for  Jesus  flow.        [blow, 


*  "  Home  must  be  made  the  most  attractive  spot  on  earth. 
Both  parents  must  labor  to  make  it  so.  Fathers  must  cultivate 
in  themselves  a  childlike  love  to  the  Great  Father,  and  then  they 
will  have  that  kindness  and  simplicity  which  attracts,  and  that 
elevation  of  feeling  which  secures  the  respect  of  children.  But 
if  business  is  allowed  to  consume  the  time  and  heart  of  the 
heaven-appointed  governors  and  teachers  of  children ;  if  religion 
is  to  take  the  form  of  out-door  effort,  and  pecuniary  contribution, 
solely;  if  we  are  to  trust  to  public  and  Sunday  Schools  to  do 
what  does  not  pertain  to  them,  what  shall  hinder  the  utter 
degeneracy  of  the  entire  people,  or  the  righteous  indignation  of 
Heaven  from  inflicting  upon  us  the  judgments  which  have  de- 
stroyed other  nations  ?  "  —  Rev.  E.  N.  Kirk. 

"  Religion  never  thoroughly  penetrates  life  till  it  becomes  do- 
mestic. Like  the  patriotic  fire,  which  makes  a  nation  invinci- 
ble, it  never  burns  with  inextinguishable  devotion  till  it  burns 
at  the  hearth."  —  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell. 


nil    sindw    SCHOOL.  19 

V     gndeM,  perish!  if  your  plants  of  pride 
Aiv   rifled  l'roin  their  soil,  —  the   Mother's  side! 

And  yet  it  needs  not  that  the  Sunday  School 
Should  cross,  or  weaken  Home's  superior  rule. 
The  generous  Teacher,  taught  himself  by  grace, 
Only  confirms  the  faithful  Parent's  place ; 
Usurps  no  power,  but  aids  the  patient  toil 
That  turns  the  furrow  in  the  goodly  soil ; 
"With  wisest  care  and  well  directed  lore, 
Deepens  the  truth,  securely  lodged  before; 
Watches  the  seed  that  takes  its  vigorous  root ; 
Rejoices  o'er  the  blossoms,  leaves,  and  fruit ; 
And  sees,  at  length,  the  noble  plant  arise, 
With  all  a  Parent's  fond  exulting  eyes. 
Thou !  thus  purveying  for  the  watchful  skies,  — 
Thou  !  thus  commissioned,  in  the  vineyard  found,  — 
Sunday  School  Teacher !   occupying  ground 
On  which  to  gaze  might  Heaven  incline  from  bliss  — 
Art  thou  sufficient  for  a  work  like  this  ? 

The  artless  girl  behold  !  —  behold  the  boy ! 
Thou  lookest  at  innocence  without  alloy  ; 
Transparent  rectitude  is  in  that  breast;  — 
The  peaceful  dove  builds  there  its  quiet  ne9t;  — 


20 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Ah  no !  —  the  swelling,  bursting  seeds  of  sin, 
That  sprout  to  evil,  germinate  within. 
'Tis  thine,  with  heart  and  spirit,  sanctified, 
To  come  in  contact  with  this  hateful  pride ; 
And,  by  the  help  of  overpowering  Grace, 
Subdue  the  passions  that  usurp  God's  place. 
To  aid  thee  are  appliances  at  hand, 
Enough,  and  more,  to  renovate  the  land. 
Say,  with  munitions  adequate  as  these, 
Why  are  not  rebels  humbled  on  their  knees  ? 
In  dust,  why  may  not  weeping  children  lie, 
As,  with  compassions,  Jesus  passes  by  — 
And  the  dull  Church,  so  deaf  to  duty's  calls, 
House,  as  "  hosannas "  shake  her  slumbering  walls  — 
The  Children's  welcome  —  taught  by  Love  the  art  ? 
Why,  Teacher !  why  ?  —  is 't  want  in  thee  of  heart  ? 
He  who  has  led  a  lamb  to  Jesus'  fold, 
And  one  more  happy  name  for  heaven  enrolled, 
Has  set  in  motion  influence,  ceasing  never ! 
Has  opened  streams  of  joy  that  flow  forever ! 


There  is,  to  win,  beyond  mere  human  skill, 
A  power  that  touches  and  subdues  the  will 
To  sweet  instruction.  —  She,  whose  humble  seat 
Is  found  on  Sundays  at  the  Children's  feet, — 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  21 

Her  *•  flute-like"  voice  explaining  holy  lore, 

Of  which  her  soul  and  intellect  have  store, — 

Her  object  lowly,  yet  too  high  for  pride, — 

Her  perfect  pattern,  the  dear  Crucified,  — 

Sees  ever  in  the  pupil's  beaming  face, 

If  in  that  pupil  glows  one  spark  of  grace  — 

Deep  lines  of   thought,  and  in  the  kindling  eye, 

A  soul  that  questions,  and  that  prompts  reply. 

From  heart  to  heart  electric  errands  go, 

And  high  communion  child  and  teacher  know ; 

The  gentle  words  that  to  the  learner  call, 

With  redox  influence  on  the  teacher  fall  ; 

"While  tears  of  strange  and  sacred  pleasure  show 

The  fellowship  of  Heaven  begun  below ! 

This,  this  is  Mind  with  Mind  communing;  this 

The  foretaste,  given,  of  immortal  bliss ;  — 

A  holy  Daniel  or  anointed  Paul 

Thus  takes  the  child  at  mercy's  earliest  call, 

Directs  its  tiny  footsteps  to  the  throne, 

And  sees  it  crowned  with  glories  like  his  own. 

"  The  day  of  small  things  "  some  affect  to  spurn  : 
Such  at  the  Sunday  School  may  lesson  learn  ; 

see  how  Heaven  prepares  from  lowly  things 
Exalted  honors  for  the  King  of  kings. 


22 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


A  few  poor  children,  gathered  in  a  room, 
An  humble  woman  teaches ;  —  one,  whose  loom 
Was  heard  in  busy  motion  all  the  week  — 
She  now  imparts,  with  looks  and  language  meek, 
The  simple  lesson,  nor  to  swear  nor  steal ; 
And  teaches  knees,  that  never  bowed,  to  kneel. 
She  bids  the  uncouth  and  semi-barbarous,  take 
A  decent  garb,  for  Decency's  mere  sake ;  — 
And,  as  shine  down  on  intellects,  opaque, 
Some  gentle  rays,  the  rescued  hasten  on, 
Till,  leaving  Egypt,  they  have  Goshen  won ; 
Where  coruscations  of  pure  knowledge  meet 
Around  the  head  and  bathe  in  light  the  feet. 
Such  is  the  story  of  the  Sunday  School, 
And  none  will  chide  its  moral  but  the  fool. 

Immortal  he,*  whose  pitying  eye  surveyed 
The  dreadful  wreck  by  Sin  and  Misery  made  ! 


*  "  In  1781  -  82  an  errand  led  Eobert  Raikes  into  a  neigh- 
borhood in  his  native  city  of  Gloucester,  England,  which  was 
inhabited  chiefly  by  the  lowest  class  of  laborers  in  a  manufac- 
tory, whose  children,  from  six  to  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age, 
were  running  wild  in  the  street.  He  was  told  that  on  the  Lord's 
day,  when  all  ages  and  classes  were  free  from  employment  and 
restraint,  their  noise  and  blasphemy  were  insufferable.  Farmers 
and  others,  in  the  neighboring  towns  and  villages,  complained  of 
the  depredations  upon  their  property  as  more  frequent  and  bold 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL.  23 

Whose  love  was  prompt;  whose  zeal  was  all  engaged 

To  meet  the  war  with  Vice  and  Error  waged  ; 
In  thai  tierce  battle  to  sustain  the  Right, 
And  chase  to  hell  the  empire  of  old  Night. 
II      law  not  that  his  unobtrusive  scheme, 
Which  pleased  his  fancy,  partly  like  a  dream, 
Would  substance  take  so  soon;  take  wings  and  fly — 
The  Principle  of  Life  where  children  die. 
Oh.  who  shall  influence  ever  wield  like  this? 
To  millions  opening  founts  of  perfect  bliss !  — 
Who  wake  such  hope,  and  widely  spreading  power 
Of  glorious  good,  increasing  every  hour, — 
All  unconfined  to  climate,  sea,  or  shore, — 
Still  rising,  swelling,  flowing,  evermore! 

Nor  could  the  treasure  noble  Raikes  had  found 
Enrich,  alone,  his  native  English  ground. 

on  that  day  than  on  all  the  rest  of  the  days  of  the  week.  To 
remedy  these  evils,  persons  duly  qualified  were  hired,  at  twenty- 
two  cents  a  day,  to  open  schools  for  two  hours  in  the  morning 
and  afternoon  ;  to  receive  and  instruct  the  ignorant  in  the  art  of 
reading;  to  teach  the  catechism,  and  to  lead  them  to  church. — 
Mr.  Baikes*!  experiment  was  entirely  successful;  his  plan  was 
approved  by  some  of  the  most  wise  and  eminent  men  in  the 
country:  similar  schools  were  established  in  other  districts,  and, 
in  1P11.  at  least  800,000  children  were  reported  as  members  of 
the-e  schools." — Teacher  Taught ;  published  by  the  Am.  S.  S. 
Union. 


24  THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

The  gift  to  us  some  friendly  herald  brought; 
By  elder  Britain  was  Columbia  taught.  * 
Yet  here,  at  first,  the  timid  stranger  saw 
Reserve  and  doubt  —  for  such  is  Yankee  law. 
"  She  comes  to  us  in  fair  and  winning  guise ; 
Yet  to  be  wary,  may  perhaps  be  wise." 
"  The  Sunday  School  ?  —  't  is  well  —  a  pretty  plan," 
The  Pastor  said  —  and  said  the  good  old  man, 

*  "  The  first  Sunday  School  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge in  this  country,  was  the  one  established  by  Ludwig  Thacker, 
as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  last  century ;  preceding  the  schools 
of  Raikes  in  England  by  thirty  or  forty  years.  This  was  in  the 
town  of  Ephrata,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1783 
Bishop  Asbury,  it  is  said,  organized  a  school  of  this  kind  in  Han- 
over, Virginia.  In  December,  1790,  incipient  measures  were 
adopted  in  Philadelphia,  for  '  The  First  Day  or  Sunday  School 
Society.'  On  the  11th  of  January  succeeding,  the  officers  were 
elected,  and  the  society  fully  organized.  In  1797,  a  Sunday 
School  was  established  at  Pawtucket,  R.  L,  a  manufacturing 
village,  and  opened  for  the  benefit  of  the  many  operatives  there. 
This  school,  like  those  previously  established  in  Philadelphia, 
was  probably  designed  chiefly  for  secular,  rather  than  solely  for 
religious  instruction.  A  School,  for  religious  instruction  on  the 
Sabbath,  was  instituted  August  22d,  1809,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. This  school  coincided  in  its  principal  features  with  the 
Sabbath  Schools  at  present  established.  In  1810,  a  Sunday 
School  was  commenced  in  Beverly,  Massachusetts,  by  two  young 
ladies;  one  of  whom  is  yet  living.  They  collected  a  number  of 
children,  for  the  purpose  of  bestowing  gratuitous  instruction,  and 
continued  the  school,  without  aid,  for  many  years.  Sunday 
Schools  were  subsequently  organized,  at  various  periods,  in  other 
cities  and  towns  of  the  United  States."  —  Fray's  History  of 
Sunday  Schools. 


I  UK     SUNDAY    school.  |0 

"  'T  is  ornamental  to  the  house  of  prayer, 
Just   like  the  carpet  on  my  pulpit  stair." 
But  when  he  saw  its  high  results  disclose, 
Indifference  ceased,  and  generous  ardor  rose. 
"  The  Sunday  School !   a  liberal  plan,  I  hold, 
To  win  the  lambs  that  bleat  around  the  fold. 
My  Blender  judgment  here  was  surely  wrong; 
Our  Zion's  pillar,  she,  —  erect  arid  strong." 

Yet,  chiefly  mark  !   a  wondrous  labor  done 
Within  the  Church;  —  the  mingling  into  one 
Consenting  minds,  of  creed  diverse ;  their  aim 
To  spread  the  savor  of  Immanuel's  Name;  — 
To  scatter  glory  round  a  world  of  shame 
Like  our  uncounted  leaping  springs,  that  tend 
Seaward  and  with  receiving  ocean  blend, 
These,  as  they  brightly  pass  to  climes  above, 
Merge  by  the  way  their  currents  into  Love; 
True  emblem  of  the  sea  without  a  shore, 
Whose   waves  embrace  and  kiss  forevcrmore. 

The  Church  is  up  from  slumber,  dust,  and  tears ! 
She  breaks  the  spell  of  eighteen  hundred  years  ! 
By  bold  aggression,  to  retrieve  her  loss, — 
!'»;■    Union,  bring  our  planet  to  the  Grose. 
3 


26  THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

In  beauty,  towering  'mid  the  sister  band 

Whose  peaceful  triumphs  ring  through  every  land, 

"Who  wear  American  upon  their  crest, 

Behold  the  Pioneer  of  all  the  rest !  *         [pall !  — 

Sunday    School    Union  !  f  —  words    that   never 

In  music's  witchery  on  the  heart  they  fall ! 

*  The  eminent  value  of  the  Sunday  School  as  a  Pioneer.  —  "  A 
gentleman,  long  resident  in  Mississippi,  and  who  has  travelled 
extensively  over  all  parts  of  it,  speaks  of  the  great  difficulties 
which  must  be  encountered  in  introducing  religious  institutions 
into  the  State ;  '  but,'  he  says,  '  if  we  get  the  whole  people  once 
aroused  in  the  work,  they  will  contribute  largely,  and  the  cause 
of  Christ  will  advance  more  rapidly  through  the  Sunday  School 
as  an  instrumentality,  than  any  and  all  other  influences.'  " 

t  The  American  Sunday  School  Union  was  organized  in 
Philadelphia,  May  1824.     It  has  five  specific  objects,  namely : 

I.  To  concentrate  the  efforts  of  Sabbath  School  Societies  in 
different  sections  of  our  country. 

II.  To  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  friends  of  religious  instruc- 
tion on  the  Lord's  day. 

III.  To  disseminate  useful  information. 

IV.  To  circulate  moral  and  religious  publications  in  every  part 
of  the  land.     And,  lastly,  though  chiefly, 

V.  To  endeavor  to  plant  a  Sunday  School  wherever  there  is  a 
population. 

In  the  first  place  —  "  to  concentrate  the  efforts  of  Sunday 
School  Societies  in  the  different  sections  of  our  country^ 

By  uniting  the  Schools  in  a  large  district  under  a  general 
board,  it  was  thought  that  a  convenient  medium  of  intercourse 
would  be  secured,  and  that  the  efforts  of  all  might  be  directed 
to  one  and  the  same  end,  and  be  sustained  by  a  common  sym- 
pathy ;  and  by  uniting  these  general  boards  with  a  national  so- 
ciety, upon  terms  mutually  advantageous,  we  hoped  still  further 


THE     SUNDAY     SCHOOL.  27 

I  know  her  name!  —  her  toils  and  objects  know, — 
They  are  but  one  —  inviting  Heaven  below. 
uTo  Try"  —  the  happy  secret  of  her  art, 
She  takes  no  royal  road  to  reach  the  heart. 
She  brings  no  plans  —  impossible  but  new. 
Her  work  is  sure,  yet  noiseless  as  the  dew. 

to  concentrate  and  harmonize  our  counsels,  while  at  the  same 
time  we  made  arrangements  to  furnish  promptly  and  on  the 
cheapest  terms,  such  facilities  in  the  shape  of  reward  books, 
tickets,  &c,  as  were  at  that  period  in  use. 

The  correctness  of  these  views  was  shown  conclusively,  in 
the  eagerness  with  which  the  proposed  connection  was  sought,  — 
for  it  may  probably  be  said,  without  exaggeration,  that  at  one 
time  nineteen  twentieths  of  all  the  Sunday  Schools  in  the  country 
were  connected  with  us.  In  process  of  time,  however,  single 
Schools  or  small  Associations  were  merged  in  County  or  State 
Societies,  and  many  were  embraced  in  denominational  organ iza- 
tions.  The  whole  number  of  Schools  and  Societies  which  have 
been  recognized  as  auxiliaries,  is  1364. 

II.  The  second  object  was  "  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the 
friends  of  religions  education  on  the  Lord's  day.''''  This  we 
could  do  chiefly  by  maturing  a  practicable  and  efficient  system 
of  instruction,  adapted  to  the  general  wants  of  the  country  — 
furnisfiing  means  of  improvement  to  such  as  would  serve  as 
active  laborers,  and  those  excitements  to  zeal  and  diligence  which 
the  progress  of  the  work  might  sug_ 

The  results  of  our  enterprise  in  this  respect,  are  seen,  not  only 
in  our  fifteen  volumes  of  Questions,  of  which  considerably  more 
than  a  million  of  copies  have  been  circulated  —  in  our  rmriooi 
Helps  to  the  understanding  of  the  sacred  volume,  and  the  proper 
mode  of  teaching  it  —  in  our  Geographies,  Dictionaries,  and  Maps 
—  in  our  works,  illustrative  of  the  Jewish  religion  and  history, 
and  the  manners  and  customs  of  Oriental  nations ;  but  they  are 


28 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 


Her  simple  motto,  you  in  Nature  find, 
"Just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined.', 
To  snatch  from  trees  a  lesson,  come  with  me  ! 
And  in  the  gorgeous  Western  Valley  see, 


also  seen  in  the  valuable  manuals  and  text-books  which  have 
issued  in  later  years  from  other  sources,  and  in  the  elaborate  and 
expensive  volumes  of  commentaries  and  annotations  upon  the 
Scriptures,  which  have  been  prepared  by  devout  and  learned 
men,  with  special  reference  to  the  wants  of  Sunday  School 
Teachers  and  juvenile  Biblical  students.  If,  to  supply  proper 
materials  and  tools  for  their  work,  be  to  strengthen  the  hands  of 
the  builders,  then  have  we  succeeded  in  this  part  of  our  original 
design. 

III.  The  third  item  was  "  to  disseminate  useful  information.'1'' 
The  extent  to  which  this  has  been  done  it  is  impossible  to 
state  with  accuracy.  The  eight  octavo  volumes  of  our  Maga- 
zine; the  four  volumes  of  the  Sunday  School  Journal,  in  the 
largest  newspaper  form,  succeeded  by  thirteen  volumes  of  the  re- 
duced size,  contain  together  an  amount  of  facts,  reasonings,  illus- 
trations, and  statistics  upon  the  subject  of  Christian  education, 
not  easily  accessible  elsewhere,  in  the  same  compass.  The  an- 
nual sermons,  by  clergymen  of  various  denominations,  constitute 
a  volume  of  peculiar  value,  setting  forth  the  views  entertained 
by  men  of  different  ecclesiastical  relations,  residing  in  different 
sections  of  the  country,  and  treating  the  subject  according  to 
their  various  apprehensions  of  its  connections  and  bearings.  The 
Annual  Eeports  make  up  several  volumes  of  no  inconsiderable 
size  and  importance.  The  Eeports  of  public  meetings,  and  a 
variety  of  Pamphlets  explaining  our  design  and  object,  and  de- 
fending the  principles  of  the  Society,  have  been  widely  circu- 
lated, and  we  may  safely  say,  that  altogether  we  have  materials 
of  this  kind  for  at  least  forty-five  or  fifty  large  octavo  volumes, 
parts  of  which  have  been  circulated  by  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  in  all  the  inhabited  parts  of  our  land.     To  all  this  we 


THE     SUNDAY    SCIIOOL. 

Not  the  apologies  for  trees  that  deck 
Our  own   PJnrnlaqtli  and  Kennebeck, — 
But  the  majestic  white-armed  sycamore, 
Or  cypress,  guarding  Mississippi's  shore. 

may  add  the  labors  of  several  hundred  Missionaries  and  Agents, 
who  have  traversed  the  country  in  the  Society's  service,  and 
disseminated  information  by  means  of  sermons,  addresses,  and 
conversations;  to  say  nothing  of  ministers  and  others  who  have 
advocated  our  cause  in  public  and  private. 

IV.  The  fourth   particular  of  the   design  was    "to  circulate 

moral  and  religious  publications  in  every  part  of  the  land ;  "  and 

by  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  us,  we  have  succeeded  in  circu- 

ibove  twenty  millions  of  such  publications,  including  each 

distinct  article  in  our  catalogue. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  each  one  of  these  twenty 
millions  of  Scriptural  publications  through  the  various  channel* 
of  its  circulation,  and  mark  the  traces  of  its  benign  influence 
upon  the  hearts  and  conduct  of  individuals  —  upon  the  church  — 
upon  private  character  and  the  public  welfare.  It  would  be  still 
more  interesting  to  trace  the  history  of  each  volume,  from  the 
tir-t  conception  of  the  subject  in  the  mind  of  the  author  to  the 
last  perceptible  re-ult-  of  ita  publication.  But  such  a  privilege 
can  be  enjoyed  by  no  finite  mind.  That  the  Amkkk  an  Mnday 
School  Unm  has  been  the  instrument  of  calling  into  exercise 
so  much  of  talents,  industry,  ingenuity,  and  piety,  as  have  been 
employed  in  the  preparation  of  several  hundred  original  manu- 
scripts, making  as  many  bound  volumes  upon  our  catalogue,  and 
that  it  has  been  the  means  of  introducing  so  extensively  ti. 
tem  of  libraries  and  in  supplying  the  young  in  so  QOBsiderablfl  a 
measure  with  appropriate  religious  reading,  are  among  the  > 
upon  our  gratitude. 

ct,  that  the  plan  of  District  School  Li- 
braries was  suggested  in  our  periodicals  as  early  as  1 1  - 
do  not  think  it  arrogant  to  claim  that  the  influence  of  Sunday 

3* 


30  THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

One  such,  a  father  in  those  forests  saw, 
Where  only  such  acknowledge  Nature's  law; 
And  bade  his  little  sprightly  son  behold 
Its  arrowy  straightness  and  its  aspect  bold; 

Schools  and  Sunday  School  Libraries  is  distinctly  visible  in  the 
present  demand  for  cheap  popular  libraries  for  common  Schools. 
Would  to  God  we  could  be  farther  instrumental  in  turning  into 
one  channel  the  two  streams  which  seem  to  have  taken  their  rise 
in  the  same  fountain,  causing  them  to  flow  as  the  waters  of  sal- 
vation to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ! 

V.  The  fifth  and  last,  and  most  important  design  of  the  or- 
ganization, was  "  to  plant  a  Sunday  School  wherever  there  is  a 
population.'1'' 

Though  this  phraseology  is  general  enough  to  embrace  the 
globe,  it  has  been  confined  by  repeated  construction  to  the  United 
States.  For  several  years  past  our  attention  has  been  directed 
chiefly  to  the  Western  and  Southern  States,  and  considering  our 
measure  of  means,  our  success  has  been  much  greater  than  could 
have  been  reasonably  expected. 

As  to  the  feasibility  of  the  Western  supply,  and  the  peculiar 
fitness  of  our  Institution  to  furnish  it,  the  mind  of  our  Board  has 
never  wavered  for  a  moment.  We  have  realized  no  difficulties  of 
which  we  did  not  distinctly  apprize  the  community  at  the  outset, 
and  the  work  done  in  that  interesting  section  of  our  country  has 
stood  to  the  utmost  extent  of  our  expectations. 

This  wide  territory  will,  in  a  fleeting  day,  be  studded  with 
cities  and  towns,  adorned  with  temples  of  justice,  learning,  and 
religion,  and  crowded  with  busy  millions  of  our  fellow  men.  Its 
waters  will  be  traversed  by  boats  or  be  connected  by  railroads 
and  canals.  The  plough  and  the  shuttle,  mercantile  enterprise, 
and  mechanical  industry  and  ingenuity,  will  soon  work  the  won- 
ders there  which  they  have  wrought  everywhere  else.  The  man 
that  is  to  mete  out  justice  and  right,  to  minister  at  the  altar,  and 
to  exert  a  commanding  influence  over  the  minds  of  his  fellow 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  31 

How  COfeSOOlialj  it  looked  in  grandeur  down, 

And  wore  the  leafy  kingdom's  royal  crown. 

••  Now."  said  the  parent,  u  William !  only  see 

What 's  that  so  like  and  yet  unlike  a  tree, 

That  rises  shortly  from  its  mother-root, 

And  then  turns  off  in  angle,  quite  acute? 

So   gnarled   and  crooked,  crossgrained,  coarse   and 

So  knotty,  stubby,  twisted,  stunted,  tough ;   [rough, 

With  beauty  none ;  with  ugliness  enough ; 

So  wicked,  too,  —  if  graceless  trees  may  sin  — 

It  never  can  the  least  affection  win?" 


citizens  —  where  is  he  now?  Perhaps  trundling  a  hoop  —  per- 
haps riding  a  plough  horse  —  perhaps  in  a  public  school  —  pos- 
sibly in  a  Sunday  School.  But,  wherever  he  is,  and  whatever  he 
does,  what  can  be  more  important  than  that  he  should  be  taught 
to  love  truth,  to  do  justly,  to  be  temperate,  to  be  obedient  to 
those  that  have  the  rule  over  him  —  in  a  word,  to  be  made  familiar 
with  the  principles  of  eternal  truth  and  justice  which  the  Bible 
alone  reveals,  and  which  are  the  foundation  and  sanction  of  all 
governments,  human  and  divine,  personal  and  social  ?  And  this 
is  the  very  object  at  which  we  aim  —  ami  unless  all  analog}',  and 
all  experience,  and  all  philosophy  are  at  fault  when  their  axioms 
are  applied  to  the  discipline  of  a  little  child,  it  is  an  exalted  and 
an  attainable  end.  Look  at  the  Samuels  and  Joshuas,  or  the 
Absaloms  and  Ahabs  of  the  past  or  the  present  age,  and  they 
will  show  us  that  whatever  there  is,  strikingly  beautiful  or  strik- 
ingly deformed,  in  the  picture  of  manhood,  is  the  result  of  the 
few  first  strokes  of  the  pencil,  and  'not  of  elaborate  correction 
and  perfect  finish.  —  Documents  of  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union. 


32  THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Both  gazed  with  curious  and  with  scornful  ejes, 
And  both  agreed  the  monster  to  despise. 
"  Now,  William,  think  !  —  and  answer  give  to  me  — 
How  could  a  sapling  ever  yield  such  tree? 
What  power  of  evil  interposed  a  change 
To  pain  the  eye  with  growth,  so  vile  and  strange  ?  " 
"I  cannot  tell,"  the  youngster  gravely  said, 
And  stopped,  and  laughed,  and  tost  his  curly  head  — 
"  I  cannot  tell  —  unless  some  clown,  quite  mellow, 
Stept  on  him  when  he  was  a  little  fellow ! " 
The  motto's  true,  that  we  in  Nature  find: 
"Just  as  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree's  inclined." 
While  some,  impelled  by  whim  or  pity,  seek 
To  crush  the  strong  and  elevate  the  weak, 
And  old  tried  paths  abandon  for  the  new, 
And  schemes  Utopian  mingle  with  the  true ; 
The  schemes  that,  sparkling  like  the  sungilt  dew, 
Like  dew  dissolve  —  She  brings  her  Plan  to  sight, 
All  bathed  in  Truth  and  lucid  as  its  light ; 
And  taking  burden  pride  disdains  to  bear, 
She  makes  the  Children  her  peculiar  care.  * 

*  "  A  young  German  philanthropist,  in  seeking  to  carry  out  a 
favorite  plan  of  benevolence  towards  the  rising  race,  applied  to 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union  for  help,  because  it  is  l  The 
Society  that  takes  care  of  the  Children.' "  —  Twenty-third  An- 
nual Report. 


THE     SUNDAY    SCUOOL.  33 

Takes  care  of  the  Children!"  —  there's  many 
To  surer  at  a  mission  so  small ; 

Thank  God,  in  earth's  famine,  for  any- 
Cheap  crumbs  of  his  mercy  that  fall ! 

For  the  crying-out  wide  desolations, 
In  Zion  a  table  is  spread ;  — 

Coming  up  are  the  hungry  by  nations ; 
But  where  shall  the  Children  be  fed? 

'T  is  noble  —  sublimity  's  in  it, 

When   Charity  maketh  her  proof, 
And  "speech"  -resolution"  and  "minute" 

Stir  arches  of  Exeter-roof;  — 
By  gold,  and  a  word,  are  at  pleasure 

The  Cross  and  the  Lion  unfurled, 
To  take  of  Idolatry  measure, 

And  vanquish  for  Jesus  the  world. 

To  cont<->t.   BO  brilliant  and  plea-ant, 
Let  princes  and  emperor-  lead;  — 

Be  lifeguards  of  noblemen  prcsoai, 
And  prelatea  and  baronets  bleed;  — 

TVe  ask  not,  we  wish  not  to  battle 
With  them  ;   but  our  disciplined  band 

Marshal  onwards,  and  where  the  shots  rattle 
■M  us  !   the  Infantry  >tand  ! 


34 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


In  the  plebian  suburbs  of  Glos'ter, 

More  glory  and  royalty  meet 
Round  him,  who  was  eager  to  foster 

The  children  that  troubled  the  street 
Aye,  nobler,  snblimer,  and  better 

Her  office  and  honors,  we  see, 
Who,  patiently,  letter  by  letter, 

Here  teaches  the  child  at  the  knee. 


"Takes  care  of  the  Children!" — where  growing 
In  August  are  vintage  and  corn, 
Who  gazes  and  thinks  of  the  sowing 
Of  sweet  little  April  with  scorn? 
"  Small  things "  may  be  jeered  by  the  scoffer, 
Yet  drops,  that  in  buttercups  sleep, 
Make  showers;  —  and  what  would  he  offer 
But  sand,  as  a  wall  for  the  deep  ? 

"  Takes  care  of  the  Children ! "  —  nor  wasted 

Is  care  on  the  weakest  of  these; 
The  culturer  the  product  has  tasted, 

And  found  it  the  palate  to  please. 
There  are  sheaves  pushing  higher  and  faster, 

And  Age  has  more  branches  and  roots, — 
But  dearer  are  none  to  the  Master 

Than  Childhood,  in  blossoms  and  fruits! 


Tin:  BTTNDAT  ><  110OL.  55 

Our  life  is  no  u dream n  —  we  began  it 

In  tears,  and  on  Time's  narrow  brink, 
'  Till  farewells  we  wave  to  this  planet, 

We  must  wake  up  and  labor  and  think, — 
And  effort  concentrate,  not  scatter, 

On  objects  all  worthy  of  us;  — 
Where  and  how,  we  perceive  is  no  matter, 

Only  blessing  fix  deep  for  the  curse. 

.  as  choice  in  the  vineyard's  permitted, 
Where  labor  is  never  in  vain, 
And  patience  and  prayer,  unremitted, 

At  last  yield  the  harvest  of  grain  — 
In  a  world  where  the  brambles  oft  sting  us, 
'T  is  well  to  choose  pleasantest  bowers  ;  — 
"Taking  care  of  the  Children"  will  bring  us 
The  nearest  to  Heaven  and  Flowers ! 

The  Union  sends  abroad  the  printed  page, 
For  Childhood  traced  by  intellectual  Age. 
Sagacious  min<l<  have  analyzed  the  task 
How  to  reply  when  little  children  ask. 
And  he  who  answers,  to  be  understood, 
And  kindly  answers,  as  the  Teacher  should, 
When  Children  ask,  accomplishes  some  good. 


36 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


In  such  memorials  men  have  shrined  a  name, — ■ 
Their  labored  folios  all  unknown  to  fame. 
So  Watts  forever  to  the  Church  belongs, 
Not  in  his  "Ethics,"  but  in  "Moral  Songs." 
The  written  page,  submitted  in  divan, 
The  critic's  eye  impartially  must  scan. 
Not  the  Reviewer's,  who  through  dulness  wades, 
Till  dull  himself,  he  sends  it  to  the  shades ; 
But  theirs,  of  liberal  and  approved  good  sense, 
Who  give  the  priceless  toil  without  expense. 
Of  various  sects,  yet  Truth  discerning  well, 
Which  wise  men  purchase  and  will  never  sell. 
Truth,  that  from  WicklifFe,  Luther,  Zwingle,  Huss, 
Through  Reformation's  portal  came  to  us. 
The  offered  volume  must  the  doctrines  show 
That  like  pure  waters  sparkle  as  they  flow;  — 
The  flaming  sword  revealing  in  each  line, 
Whose  two  edged  lightnings  cut  as  well  as  shine. 
No  careless  labor,  huddled  up  in  haste  ; 
Of  dreamy  words,  no  vapid  barren  waste, 
To  please  a  spoiled  Humanitarian  taste. 
Nor  what  the  Fathers,  or  the  Rabbis  preach, 
But  the  plain  lessons  Jesus  loved  to  teach. 
The  Union's  model,  for  ingenuous  youth, 
Dwarfs  not  —  she  deems  —  one  precious,  vital  truth, 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  87 

Nor  shuts  one  out.  —  The  Bible  rules  arc  few, 
That   show   DS  what  to  shun,  and  what   to  do. 
The  Way  of  Life  is  clearly  pointed  out, 
And  none,  who  seek,  of  that  bright  path  may  doubt ; 
Yet  none  can  show  the  Scripture-flag  unfurled 
With  one  poor  Shibboleth  to  divide  the  world. 
Thus,  well  approved,  nor  word  nor  sentence  past 
Unweighed,  unnoted  —  'tis  a  Book  at  last; 
And  takes  its  station  where,  in  beauteous  line, 
Six  hundred  sisters  of  the  household  shine ; 
That,  not  as  beauties,  range  in  idle  show, 
But  as  untiring  messengers  will  go 
The  Leaves  of  Healing  for  each  moral  woe  — 
To  every  clime  that  owns  a  human  ill  — 
To  icy  Greenland  and  the  warm  Brazil ; 
"Where  polar  Arctic  and  Antarctic  freeze, — 
"Where  sunnv  islands  dot  the  Southern  Seas.  * 


*  "  The  amount  of  books,  &c,  distributed  during  the  year 
from  the  Home  Depository,  and  by  its  branches  and  agents,  was 
one  hundred  and  ten  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars 
twelve  cents.  Eighty-two  new  publications  have  been  added  to 
our  Catalogue  the  last  year.  Some  of  these  are  of  an  elementary 
character;  others  are  of  a  grade  suited  to  the  most  vigorous  and 
be^t  cultivated  minds.  They  make  an  addition  of  seven  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  twenty-two  pages  to  our  plates;  or  forty  MW 
18mo  volumes,  averaging  two  hundred  pages  each,  to  the  attract- 
ive n-li^HMU-;  reading  of  the  times." —  Tiventy-lhird  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 

4 


38  THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Come !  —  for  her  work  is  twofold  —  come !  and 
In  some  fair  garden  of  the  glorious  West.       [rest 
Yet  how  may  fancy  ever  fondly  hope, 
Cribbed  as  she  is  in  this  Atlantic  slope  — 
To  seize  the  beauties,  as  they  lie  exprest 
In  lovely  colors,  on  the  glorious  West? 
Of  rivers,  forests,  prairies,  mountains,  lakes, 
Of  rich  savannas,  and  luxuriant  brakes  — 
And,  more  than  all,  the  nestling  spots,  where  man 
Woos  round  him  paradise  —  if  mortals  can ! 
Delicious  winds  to  mariners  betray 
The  spicy  island,  bearing  far  away, 
Which  to  discern  the  keenest  vision  fails ;  — 
'Tis  present  with  them  in  the  citron  gales. 
The  traveller  sees,  in  every  graceful  flower 
That  buds  and  blossoms  round  Religion's  bower, 
Proof  that  a  culturing  hand  of  skill  and  taste 
Has  toiled  to  purpose  In  the  sylvan  waste,    [dells; 
"  Such  has  been  here !  "  speak  woodlands,  vales,  and 
"  Such  has  been  here ! "  the  Soul  of  Fragrance  tells. 
Leaving  New  England's  treasure- world  of  snow, 
To  softer  climes  the  Missionaries  go. 

Note.  —  The  number  of  bound  Library  Books  on  the  Society's 
Catalogue  in  January,  1848,  was  above  six  hundred.  A  demand 
exists,  and  is  increasing  for  them,  in  all  parts  of  the  known  world. 


THE     SUNDAY     SCHOOL.  39 

Of  various  (.'reeds,  yet  in  the  Saviour  one, — 
The  Union  sends  them  to  the  setting  sun. 
Fifty  are  furnished  from  her  scanty  store;  — 
She  has  a  heart  for  fifty  hundred  more !  * 

*  "  To  appreciate  the  labor  of  twenty-nine  of  these  fifty 
Missionaries  and  Agents,  during  the  past  year,  it  is  needful  to 
examine  it  a  little  in  detail.  I.  First,  then,  in  performing  it, 
thirty-three  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  miles  have 
been  travelled,  and  this,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  roads  difficult 
to  pass,  and  quite  destitute  of  ordinary  comforts  and  conveniences. 
II.  In  the  progress  of  their  travels  they  have  delivered  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  thirteen  sermons  or  addresses,  to  as  many  Sunday 
Schools  or  other  public  assemblies,  on  subjects  connected  with 
their  mission.  IIL  It  is  part  of  their  work  to  visit  languishing 
Schools,  and  if  possible  revive  them ;  though  their  main  object  is 
to  establish  new  Schools  in  destitute  places.  This  has  brought 
them  into  personal  interview  with  fourteen  hundred  Schools,  em- 
bracing nearly  or  quite  seven  thousand  Teachers,  and  fifty  thou- 
sand Children  and  Youth.  IV.  As  part  of  the  apparatus  needful 
to  accomplish  these  ends,  they  are  furnished  with  a  limited  supply 
of  Sunday  School  Books,  and  when  they  find  a  School  is  dwindling 
away,  and  that  a  small  donation  will  be  likely  to  stimulate  its 
friends  to  new  efforts,  or  when  they  establish  a  School  in  a  neigh- 
borhood without  ability  to  supply  its  own  wants,  our  Missionaries 
are  authorized  to  aid  them  by  a  partial  or  entire  gratuity.  V.  In 
addition  to  their  Sunday  School  labor,  these  twenty-nine  brethren 
have  put  in  circulation  useful  Books,  to  the  value  of  ten  thousand 
two  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars  fifty-two  cents,  which,  at  the 
price  of  the  Society's  Ten  Dollar  Libraries,  would  be  upwards 
of  one  hundred  thousand  volumes,  averaging  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pages  each.  VI.  In  the  progress  of  their  work,  they 
have  also  carefully  distributed  upwards  of  six  thousand  Bibles 
and  Testaments;  a  mode  of  distribution  as  safe  and  effective, 
and  certainly  as  cheap,  as  any  that  could  be  desired." —  Twenty- 
Third  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 


40 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Behold  the  hamlet  in  that  clearing  seen ! 
Just  where  the  prairie  undulates  with  green. 
But  five  years  since,  and  not  a  log-house  rose 
Where  Labor  now  alternates  with  Repose. 
The  huts  are  poor ;  the  furniture  is  bad ; 
But  wholesome  food  is  in  abundance  had;  — 
In  rags  and  health  the  boys  and  girls  are  clad. 
No  cheerful  school-house  greets  the  passer  by; 
No  taper  steeple  points  him  to  the  sky.         [need, 
No  books  are  there ;  —  of  books,  pray  what 's  the 
Where  none  possess  the  useful  art  to  read? 
Sunday  unknown,  or  deemed  a  stale  device, 
The  children  grow  in  ignorance  and  vice. 
The  habits  gross,  the  manners  unrefined, 
The  forest's  midnight  fitly  types  the  mind,      [state 
What   shall   be   done  ?  —  'till   these   improve   their 
And  call  a  preacher,  may  we  dare  to  wait? 
And  if  they  call,  what  shall  his  doctrines  be? 
For  here  of  sects  are  more  than  two  or  three ; 
And  they,  as  one,  can  never  well  unite ; 
And  each,  alone,  will  trim  no  gospel  light.  * 


*  Strong  testimony  from  the  spot.  —  A  correspondent  of  the 
Sunday  School  Journal,  writing  from  Natchez,  Mississippi,  says : 
11  Our  people  in  the  river  counties  have  no  conception  of  the 
destitution  in  the  interior,  and  a  strictly  correct  Report  of  some 


Tin:    >r\'i'\v    SCHOOL.  41 

Now  comes  the  Union's  faithful  agent;  he 
Surveys  the  evil,  and  the  eure  can  see. 
-its  all  —  stirs  no  discordant  string. 
They  hear  the  rustle  of  an  angel's  wing! 
His  lips  drop  music,  never  breathed  before;  — 
His  step  leaves  fragrance  at  each  willing  door. 
The  Sabbath  shines  upon  a  reverent  throng; 
The  woods  are  vocal  with  the  prayer  and  song 
Poured  out  where  arch  and  tracery  rise  to  view  — 
God's  tirst  cathedral,  when  the  world  was  new.  [man 
He  speaks i  —  ••  Your  forms  and  creeds  are  various; 
Has  but  one  Bible  —  one  Salvation-Plan;  — 
And  here  'tis  found.     There  is  no  other  Name 
Than  His,  by  whom  that  full  redemption  came. 
And  you  may  look  —  to  look,  the  angels  burn  ! 
And  you  may  read  what  angels  fain  would  learn  ! 
To  aid  the  purpose  I  at  once  intend ; 
And  give  you  Books,  as  from  a  distant  friend. 

ITC  them  —  read  them,  lend  them,  as  your  own; 
The  gift  of  one  that  loves  you  though  unknown." 
Departs  the  herald;  but  the  influence  stays. 
A  School  is  planted,  and  ita  fruits  are  praise. 

portions  would  scarcely  be  credited ;  and  yet  this  people  can  be 
reached,  and  brought  under  moral  ami  retigkmfl  inrtu<>nc«\  in  DO 
other  way  but  throueh  the  American  Sunday  School  Tnion." 
4* 


42 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


A  Church  is  gathered,  and  the  dews  of  grace 
Drop  gently  down  and  fructify  the  place.  * 

And  shall  we  wait  ?  —  Oh  no  !  the  work  sustain ; 
Nor  let  the  Union  call  for  aid  in  vain. 


*  From  reports  of  Missionaries  and  Agents,  sufficient  to  fill 
volumes,  three  or  four  sketches  are  subjoined.  Mr.  J.  Adams, 
laboring  in  Central  Illinois : 

Formed  28  new  Schools,  with  196  Teachers,  and  1344  Scholars. 

Visited   74  old        "  "     567         "  "    3700        " 

Total,    102  763  5044 

Delivered  44  Addresses ;  travelled  727  miles,  and  distributed 
60  small  Libraries. 

Most  of  the  twenty-eight  new  Schools  were  got  up  and  organ- 
ized in  very  obscure  places,  where  there  was  never  a  Sunday 
School  before,  and  far  away  from  religious  privileges  on  the  Sab- 
bath. In  such  places  as  these  the  plan  of  Union  is  of  incalcu- 
lable importance,  and  seems  to  change  the  moral  aspect  of  the 
community  around.  Formerly  the  Sabbath  was  disregarded  and 
awfully  profaned,  —  now,  the  children  and  youth,  and  even  pa- 
rents, are  seen  collecting  in  the  Sunday  School,  to  pray,  to  sing, 
to  study  the  Bible,  and  to  see  and  do  what  they  had  never  seen 
and  done  before  —  to  carry  home  with  them  books  from  their 
Sunday  School  Library ;  and  these  books  are  probably  read  by 
every  member  of  the  family,  once,  twice,  or  three  times  in  the 
course  of  the  week,  with  deep  interest. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Corey,  of  Illinois  writes :  "  The  whole  number  of 
Schools  that  have  been  visited  or  aided,  in  connection  with  my 
Agency  during  the  last  year,  is  two  hundred  and  nineteen. — 
Embracing  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  Teachers, 
and  nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-eight  Scholars.  Seven 
of  these  Schools  are  in  Missouri,  seven  in  Iowa,  sixteen  in  Wis- 
consin, and  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  in  Dhnois,  distributed 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  43 

The  spot,  neglected,  and  obscure,  she  seek-  : 
And  has  an  utterance  where  no  Pulpit  speaks. 
Her  toiling  servants  penetrate  the  wild, 
Unsearehed  by  minister,  and  reach  the  child; 

among  thirty-two  counties;  sixty-one  are  in  what  is  denominated 
'Southern  Illinois'  —  a  district  as  destitute  of  religious  instruc- 
tion as  any  other  of  the  same  size  in  the  Western  country.  One 
hundred  and  eighty  of  these  Schools  are  entirely  new,  and  most 
of  them  in  neighborhoods  which  never  before  enjoyed  a  Sunday 
School.  A  large  proportion  of  them  are  in  places  where  they 
have  no  preaching,  and  among  a  people  where  a  preacher  of  any 
particular  denomination  could  not  be  sustained  —  Union  Schools 
in  which  the  few  resident  Christians  can  unite. 

"  These  one  hundred  and  eighty  Schools  embrace  one  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  fifty-three  Teachers,  and  seven  thousand 
five  hundred  and  sixty-nine  Scholars;  making  a  total  of  eight 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-two  souls  who  have  been 
brought,  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  these  humble  efforts,  under 
the  influence  of  Bible  instruction  every  Sabbath.  More  than 
twenty-five  thousand  useful  volumes  have  beeu  put  into  circula- 
tion, where  they  have  already  been  read  many  times,  and  where 
they  will  continue  to  circulate  and  be  read  until  used  up  in  the 
service  —  leaving  their  ineffaceable  impressions  upon  the  immor- 
tal mind. 

"  Having  resided  for  the  last  fifteen  years  in  the  West,  and 
traversed  some  portions  of  it  extensively,  my  heart  has  often 
been  moved,  while  I  have  thought  on  the  intellectual  and  moral 
condition  —  present  and  prospective  —  of  the  millions  who  dwell 
in  this  great  valley.  I  remember  many  years  ago,  while  still 
residing  east  of  the  mountains,  that  from  almost  every  state  and 
territory,  and  village  and  hamlet  of  this  vast  region,  a  cry  of 
destitution  and  distress  came  over  into  our  ears.  It  was  the  cry 
of  those  who  were  famishing  for  want  of  intellectual  and  mora] 
food.     '  Send  us  Ministers  and   Teachers  and  Bi/Aes,  or  we  and 


44 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


And  —  what  no  others  can  so  surely  do, 
They  bring  him  out  to  daylight's  cheerful  view; 
And  pour  effulgence  on  his  gloomy  mind ;  —    [blind. 
Give  ears  to  Childhood  deaf,  and  eyes  to  Childhood 

our  Children  perish  without  knowledge.''  The  cry  was  loud  and 
long ;  it  entered  into  our  ears  and  sank  down  into  our  hearts. — 
The  whole  church  was  moved,  and  mighty  efforts  were  made  to 
respond  to  the  call.  The  ministers  of  God  turned  their  faces  and 
footsteps  towards  the  setting  sun.  The  Teacher  also  came,  and 
Bibles  by  cargoes  came ;  but  the  tide  of  population  has  also  con- 
tinued to  roll  in  with  a  mightier  swell ;  so  that  after  all  that  has 
been  done  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  by  the  churches  of  the  east  — 
and  much  has  been  done  to  diffuse  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  — 
to  enlighten  and  save  this  great  people —  all  our  means  of  moral 
and  intellectual  improvement,  are  relatively  still  further  in  arrears 
than  at  the  beginning.  The  elements  of  evil  have  been  steadily 
gaining  the  ascendancy,  and  righteousness  and  truth  relatively 
receding.  A  million  of  Children  and  Youth  have  been,  and  still 
are,  growing  up  in  ignorance  and  sin,  without  any  suitable  instruc- 
tion. Millions  more  will  soon  walk  in  their  footsteps.  I  have 
looked  abroad  upon  this  mighty  mass,  and  asked  with  deep  con- 
cern, what  will  be  the  state  of  society  when  these  millions  become 
fathers,  and  mothers,  and  legislators,  and  governors,  if  the  intel- 
lect and  heart  are  left  to  nature's  wildness  ?  And  what  will  be 
the  condition  and  fate  of  my  country,  when  this  Valley  shall  gain 
a  controlling  influence,  as  gain  it  she  will  ?  And  where  will 
these  teeming  millions  of  immortal  beings  be  after  myriads  of 
ages  have  rolled  away?  Shall  they  swell  the  song  of  the 
redeemed  before  the  eternal  throne,  or  the  wailings  of  despair  in 
the  world  of  woe  ? 

"In  looking  after  the  existing  instrumentalities,  on  which 
reliance  is  placed,  under  God,  to  effect  the  mighty  (and  desired) 
change,  I  have  turned  to  the  common  School ;  but  I  found  that 
multitudes  of  these  are  without  teachers,  and  many  engaged  as 


IRI  SUNDAY  SCHOOL.  45 

Scorn  not  jfcgiw  tendrils —  if  you  deem  them  so  — 
Where  one  may  die,  a  thousand  live  and  grow. 
And  should  one  fail,  recuperative  power 
res  to  life  the  imperishable  flower, 

instructors,  are  scarcely  able  to  teach  the  first  rudiments  of 
knowledge  —  still  less  the  obligations  of  man  to  his  God.  God, 
ni  not  in  the  common  Schools.  I  turned  my  eye  to  the 
minister  of  God,  to  him  whose  messages  are  in  an  especial  man- 
ner the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  to  salvation.  But  alas !  I 
found  that  not  one-fourth  of  the  whole  mass  came  under  his 
influence,  or  within  the  sound  of  his  voice.  But  a  Sunday  School 
may  be  planted  in  every  village  and  hamlet  and  settlement ;  in  a 
ind  places  where  the  gospel  cannot  come  or  be  preached; 
and  through  the  Sunday  School,  every  family  and  individual 
may  be  reached.  All  the  Lord's  people  scattered  over  these  vast 
prairies,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  may  become  prophets 
and  teachers  in  the  Sunday  School.  Thus  many  'shall  run  to 
and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  increased '  —  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord.  Impressed  with  this  view,  I  wrote  to  the  American 
Sunday  School  Union,  long  before  I  had  any  expectation  of  being 
engaged  in  the  blessed  work,  that,  in  my  opinion,  herein  alone  is 
the  salvation  of  these  people,  and  the  hope  of  our  country. — 
Having  now  spent  a  year  in  the  work  of  establishing  Schools,  so 
far  from  having  changed  my  opinion,  I  am  only  confirmed  in  it ; 
my  confidence  is  greatly  increased.  I  feel  indeed  that  we  have 
struck  a  mine  of  wealth,  which  has  only  to  be  'worked,'  to  pro- 
duce, by  the  blessing  of  God,  the  best  results." 

Mr.  J.  W«  Vail  of  Wisconsin  reports  the  organization  of  thirty 
S  ihools,  embracing  one  hundred  and  fifty    ! 
about  one  thousand  Scholars.    Ho  bai  sis*  visited  and  r 
tated  fifty-two  ot;  "The  past  year  has   1,,-. m  MM  of 

unparalleled  intero-t,  owing  to  the  rush  of  immigration.      Our 
population  now  numbers  over  one   hundred   and  fifty  ti. 

-  a  solemn  thought  that  this  multi:  omen, 


46 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


With  brighter  resurrection  from  the  germ, 
As  soars  aurelia  from  the  lowly  worm  ! 
Then  say  not  Schools  that  blossom  in  the  West, 
Like  fruitful  vines,  are  useless  and  unblest. 


and  children,  will  be  summoned  before  their  Maker  within  the 
circle  of  forty  years,  a  large  number  before  that  time,  a  few  after. 
Whatever  is  done  then  for  this  multitude,  must  be  done  quickly. 
Among  our  population  are  twenty  thousand  Germans,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  French,  and  twelve  thousand  Irish,  the  most 
of  whom  are  the  willing  dupes  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  slaves  to  their 
wicked  propensities,  and  destitute  of  a  love  for  the  word  of  God. 
In  addition  to  these  are  eight  thousand  Norwegians,  whose  minds 
are  as  dark,  and  who  are  as  much  enslaved  to  certain  forms,  as  is 
the  Papist ;  and  of  these  forty-one  thousand  eight  hundred,  there 
are  very  few  who  have  any  moral  or  religious  reading.  A  few 
possess  the  Bible,  and  to  those  few  it  is  precious ;  others  have  it, 
but  read  it  not  —  while  others  again  are  entirely  destitute,  living 
in  a  gospel  land  in  heathenish  darkness.  And  of  the  one  hundred 
thousand  Americans,  English,  and  Welch,  many  are  worshipping 
their  farms  and  merchandise,  others  are  bowing  at  the  shrine  of 
Fashion,  and  others  again  boasting  of  their  vileness,  and  publicly 
sneering  at  the  pure  and  precious  word  of  God." 

The  Rev.  B.  W.  Chidlaw,  of  Ohio,  reports  the  organization  of 
forty-two  new  Schools,  and  the  reviving  and  supplying  with 
Books  of  thirty-four  other  Schools.  These  Schools  are  held  in 
barns,  school  houses,  private  dwellings,  and  Churches  —  one  of 
them  within  the  walls  of  the  State  Prison  at  Columbus,  where 
there  is  a  Union  School  of  about  one  hundred  Scholars,  and 
twelve  Teachers.  These  various  Schools  number  five  hundred 
Teachers,  and  three  thousand  five  hundred  Scholars.  Into  these 
Schools  have  been  introduced  about  seven  thousand  volumes  of 
Books.  The  introduction  of  this  pure,  elevated,  and  sanctified 
juvenile  literature  into  our  destitute  villages  and  neighborhoods, 
is  all  important  for  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  interest  of  the 
rising  generation. 


THB     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


47 


That  where  the  Bring  preacher  has  not  come, 
The  Sunday  School's  glad  voices  must  be  dumb. 
Believe  such  libel,  and  the  chills  of  night 
Ten  thousand  blossoms  would  forever  blight. 
A  thousand  buds,  in  whose  embraces  lie 
A  thousand  Churches,  would,  in  embryo,  die. 
Hope,  that  sustains  as,  taking  wings,  would  fly. 
And  in  that  Valley,  where  unceasing  strife 
Death  boldly  wages  with  Eternal  Life, 


■  In  the  West  we  have  much  to  fear  from  the  light  literature, 
the  licentious  and  infidel  publications,  so  wide  spread  in  our 
midst.  Our  danger  i*  real  and  alarming.  Would  that  it  were 
more  deeply  felt ;  then  would  the  claims  of  duty  meet  a  prompt 
and  general  response.  By  the  help  of  God,  I  have  lifted  up  my 
voice  against  this  great  and  growing  evil ;  and  I  have  reason  to 
hope  that  I  have  not  cried  in  vain.  In  many  places  much  inter- 
-  been  excited,  and  a  new  impulse  given  to  the  Sunday 
School  cause,  and  a  greater  demand  for  Sunday  School  Books. 
This  i*  ground  for  encouragement  and  gratitude.  The  pre-occu- 
pancy  of  the  mind,  and  a  taste  for  religious  reading,  Is  our  hope. 
In  our  Sunday  Schools,  we  aim  to  secure  this  vantage  ground, 
and  God  helping  us,  we  shall  succ 


Such  are  a  few  of  the  important  results  secured  by  the  labors 
of  only  four  Missionaries.  The  American  Sunday  School  Union, 
have  now  fifty-four  men  of  tlii<  character,  laboring  in  different 
■i  the  country.  They  are  all  fully  and  successfully  em- 
ployed. The  Society  is  most  anxioin  to  scrure.  the  meana  for 
extending  this  system  of  instruction  to  every  family  now  destitute 
of  it  in  our  whole  country,  and  for  this  purpose,  the  Board  de- 
pend wholly  upon  the  free  contributions  of  the  churches.  —  Cir- 
cular of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union,  1847. 


48  THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Would  thousand  thousands  to  destruction  go, 
Lost  by  the  falsehood,  so  replete  with  woe.* 
'Tis  vain  to  urge:  "The  scholar's  interest  dies 
"When  sleeps  the  pulpit "  —  or  that  "  he  who  cries 
On  Zion's  wall  is  Zion's  only  voice."  — 
For  the  Ascension- Gift  I  will  rejoice; 
Fools  may  its  teaching  folly  deem  —  with  God 
'T  is  wisdom  !  —  Beautiful  their  feet,  all  shod 
In  Holiness,  that  stand  upon  the  mountains, 
Revealing  Him  who  opened  mercy's  fountains ! 
How  beautiful  the  feet  of  heralds,  treading 
The  noble  Valley!  o'er  its  prairies  spreading 
The  tidings  caught  in  Palestine ;  and  shedding 
On  youthful  hearts  the  odor  of  sweet  flowers, 
Distilled  from  Sharon's   Rose,  and  flung  abroad  in 

[showers !  f 

*  Of  all  marvels,  none  is  so  strange  as  that  men,  calling 
themselves  Christians,  should  seek  to  thwart  the  efforts  of  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union  to  establish  Sabbath  Schools  in 
those  most  destitute  places  of  the  West,  where  as  yet  there  is  no 
stated  ministry.  We  can  conceive  that  enemies  of  the  gospel 
should  regard  these  nurseries  of  future  churches  with  dread  and 
hatred.  But  the  language  of  all  who  love  the  Saviour  should  be 
that  which  fell  from  his  own  blessed  lips,  when  children  were 
brought  to  him  :  "  Forbid  them  not !  "  — J.  M.  A. 

f  For  the  substance  of  this  sketch  of  the  incipient  steps  taken 
in  hundreds  of  instances  in  the  Western  Valley,  and  resulting 
in  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  preached  Gospel  and  its 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  49 

See  !  how  reversing  Logic's  ancient  laws, 
Effect  goes  b;u-k,  itself  producing  Cause. 
The  School  is  offspring  of  the  Day  of  Rest  — 
The  Sunday  School  gives  Sunday  to  the  West! 
To  fair  Wisconsin,  scoffers,  void  of  shame, 
Have  idly  boasted,   "Sunday  never  came." 
Where  round  me  fell  the  curtains  of  an  eve 
Lovely  as  God's  bright  pencils  ever  leave 
On  Western  landscapes  —  I  at  leisure  rode 
By   silver  waters,  that  in  music  flowed. 
A  boy  was  busy  in  their  ripples  fishing;  — 
The  nearest  journey  to  a  farm  house  wishing, 
I  craved  the  way ;  —  the  way  he  kindly  told, 
And  left  his  sport,  some  pleasant  talk  to  hold. 
He  was  but  young  —  of  "thirteen  years,"  he  said; 
With  rosy  cheeks,  large  sparkling  eyes,  and  head 
All  prodigal  of  black  and  curly  hair. 
II<-   won  my  love  —  I  spoke  him  soft  and  fair:  — 
'•And   fish  you  here  on   Sundays,  boy?"  said  I. 
My  heart  leaped  up  at  his  sincere  reply  — 
"  Oh  no !  not  now  ! "  and  brighter  flashed  his  eye. 

ordinances,  proving  most  conclusively  that  the  Sunday  School 
on  the  Union  Plan  is  the  pioneer  of  the  Church,  the  reader  la 
referred  to  the  opinion  of  Mr.  John  Adams,  Missionary  of  the 
American  Sunday  School  Union  in  Illinois  —  which  i-  embodied 
in  the  Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Society. 
5 


50 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


"  I  fish  no  more  on  Sundays  ! "  —  "  but  I  read 
Our  little  books,  and  try  the  words  to  heed; 
To  break  the  Sabbath,  here,  is  not  the  rule, 
For  now  we  have  a  happy  Sunday  School." 
The  School  is  offspring  of  the  Day  of  Rest  — 
The  Sunday  School  gives  Sunday  to  the  West! 


Would  you  to  skeptics  and  opposers  preach? 
I  pray  you  leave  them,  and  the  Children  teach. 
A  little  Child,  who  letters  did  not  know, 
To  Sunday  lessons  was  allowed  to  go, 
If  none  to  him  the  way  of  life  would  show; 
"And,"  interposed  his  unbelieving  sire, 
"No  God  you  fable,  nor  eternal  fire." 
His  mother  said,  "  He  may  catch  something  good," — 
And  so  he  went.     At  Sunday  School  he  stood 
Just  by  a  Teacher  who  explained  the  power 
Of  God  to  one  yet  older ;  and  that  hour, 
A  few  plain  Bible  precepts,  simply  taught, 
In  their  rich  beauty  to  that  child  were  brought ; 
And,  like  perfumes  hid  in  the  floweret's  cup, 
His  little  heart  the  doctrines  treasured  up. 
That  evening,  gazing  on  the  spangled  frame, 
He  watched  the  stars,  as,  one  by  one,  they  came, 
Each  other  telling  their  Creator's  Name. — 


THE     sinday    BCHOOI*.  51 


The   fjkntm   Cause  of  all  that's   good   and   fair. 
The   Child  acknowledged,  and    he   must   declare:  — 
••Do  Me  the  little  stars:  —  Qcd   put   them  there!" 

when  the  brutal  father  curst  and  swore, 
God's  Name  that   hovel  never  heard  before. 
The  infant's  lesson,  like  Ithuriel's  spear, 
Flashed  to  his  heart,  and  gave  that  parent  fear ; 
N-.r  found  he  peace,  'till  unbelief  and  pride 
-lain,  forever,  by  the  Crucified. 

The  Sunday  School,  in  Union,  can  achieve 
What  hope  may  look  for  and  what  faith  believe. 
Though  carnal  weapons  she  may  never  bring 
The  five  smooth  pebbles  and  the  simple  sling, 
Wielded  by  Truth,  shall  evermore  prevail 
To  bring  down  Error,  armed  in  coat  of  mail. 
She  takes  the  Bible  for  her  only  rule. 
She  on  the  Bible  plants  the  Sunday  School. 
No  book  above  it,  nor  beside,  may  show ;  — 
But  places  all  immeasurably  below. 
She  in  the  sunlight  spreadi  its  contents  wide, 
And  asks  mankind  to  study,  think,  decide. 
She  knows  no  man,  were  he  as  wise  as  Paul, 

:id  graces  may  the  conscience  thrall. 
.  for  himself  must  hear  the  earnest  call. 


52  THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Each,  at  the  peril  of  his  soul  must  search, 
And  at  his  peril  find,  nor  idly  ask  the  Church;  — 
The  humble  heart  may  lofty  mysteries  scan  ! 
God  saves  not  by  communities  —  his  plan 
Points  to  the  pool  the  individual  man, 
And  moves  the  water  for  one  leper,  crying, 
As  if  that  moment  thousands  were  not  dying! 

The  Union  seeks  the  little  child  to  take, 
And  teach  it  lessons  as  the  Saviour  spake. 
For  this  great  work  her  forces  all  unite. 
For  this,  she  kneels  before  the  throne  of  light. 
For  this,  implores  upon  herself  and  toil 
Grace  to  prepare  and  sow  the  fallow  soil. 
For  this,  her  hundred  thousand  Teachers  go, 
Armed  at  all  points,  to  meet  the  subtle  foe. 
For  this  she  sways  o'er  willing  minds  her  rule, 
And  counts,  by  millions,  Children  in  her  School. 
For  tins,  of  Bibles,  she's  the  queenly  giver; 
And  Books,  like  waters  from  that  sacred  river, 
In  rills,  unnumbered,  flow  at  her  command, 
Conveying  Truth  to  every  thirsty  land.* 

*  To  the  concise  exposition  and  forcible  appeal  which  close 
the  Twentieth  Annual  Report,  I  am  indebted  for  these  just  views 
of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union's  aims  and  expectations. 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  53 

Flow  on!  ye  bounteous  healing  streams  of  Lite, 

When  transcendental  infidels  are  rife. 

Dull  dreamers,  they,  who  store  enquiring  Mind 

With  what  convenience  or  mere  chance  may  find  ; 

Or  chaff,  or  bran,  or  stones,  —  no  matter  which! 

Maturer  Time  will  see  the  proper  niche 

Filled  with  the  Good  and  True,  that  must  prevail 

When  wise  Experience  holds  aloft  her  scale. 

Truth  lives,  and  Error  dies,  and  so  the  dreamers  fail ! 

Such  thumb  the  pages  of  conceited  Self, 

And  leave  the  Bible  on  the  dusty  shelf; 

And  shunning  streams  that  from  pure  fountains  roll, 

With  turbid  waters  nauseate  the  soul. 

In  vain  they  grope  for  Knowledge,  while  they  turn 

From  her  true  star  to  lamps  that  feebly  burn 

In  murky  sepulchres,  where  Error  goes,  — 

Where  God  for  judgment  holds  the  ashes  of  His  foes: 

And  yet,  the  thousands,  ransomed,  what  are  they, 
Compared  with  millions,  who  each  lust  obey! 
From  Europe's  capitals  we  hear  their  cry ;  — 
In  Irish  bogs,  by  loathsome  swarms,  they  lie;  — 
At  England's  palaces  the  vagrants  die. 
Or,  worse  than   Lazarus,  for  without  his  hope, 
While  sores  of  sin  warn  off  the  dogs,  they  grope 


54 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 


In  the  dark  precincts  of  the  London  hells, 
Where  every  sin  of  damned  Gomorrah  dwells. 
Lo !  unconfined  to  soil  or  hemisphere, 
Behold  the  spawn  of  guilt  and  famine  here ! 
Disintegrated  particles  of  man, 
That  chemic  laws  ne'er  bind  to  place  or  clan. 
With  us,  their  black  uncomely  tents  they  pitch  — 
We  hail  the  nomads  of  the  Dublin  ditch. 
For  us,  the  foreign  prison  door  unlocks;  — 
The  work -house  empties  on  our  ballot  box ! 
"  Your  picture 's  sombre ;  to  relieve  its  gloom, 
The  Sunday  School,  from  sure  and  fearful  doom, 
Will  save  the  Children?" — Never!  there's  no  room. 
Room  for  the  rich,  the  noble,  and  the  proud;  — 
Room  for  the  decent  poor  —  not  for  a  carrion  crowd. 
Our  Sunday  Schools  like  gardens  you  behold ; 
ihe  flowers  arrayed  in  crimson,  pink,  and  gold. — 
What  choice  perfumes  the  soul  and  sense  delight ! 
What  rainbow  colors  fascinate  the  sight ! 
Is  it  for  this,  celestial  Pity  takes 
An  earthly  form,  admired  and  loved  as  Raikes, 
That  some  with  dainties  may  be  overfed, 
While  others  die,  for  lack  of  daily  bread? 
'T  is  wrong  !  —  't  is  sad  perversion  !  —  shall  it  be 
Forever,  thus,  Philanthropy!  with  thee? 


THK     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  55 


No  !   for  a  lovelier  spirit   wakes  and  smiles. 
Whose  radiant   glory  Lights  the  British  Isles  — 
Whose  wing  of  swiftness  cleaves  the  yielding  air, — 
Now  seen  with  us  —  a  Genius,  good  and  fair. 
She  walks  abroad,  and  seeks  the  vilest  haunt ; 
And  those  exiled  from  all  but  Sin  and  Want 
She  kindly  gathers  ;  —  calms  the  ruffian  lad  ; 
Revives  the  drooping;  softly  soothes  the  sad; 
Applies  fresh  waters  ;  smooths  dishevelled  curls ; 
Turns  little  furies  into  gentle  girls, 
And  savage  tempers  to  the  decent  rules 
That  love  enforces  in  the  Ragged  Schools!* 

*  It  is  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  years  since  the  attention 
of  benevolent  people  in  London  was  called  to  the  forlorn  con- 
dition of  thousands  of  yonth,  of  both  sexes,  who,  not  only  in 
stature,  but  in  wickedness,  had  grown  beyond  the  reach  of  com- 
mon Sunday  Schools,  and  many  of  whom  had  become  already 
notorious  for  crime.  There  were  parts  of  the  city  and  suburbs 
of  London  in  which  crowds  of  these  miserable  creatures  were 
found.  These  were  justly  called  "  breeding  places  for  the  hulks 
and  jails,  too  horrible  to  contemplate." 

A-  ^arly  as  1839-40,  a  very  destitute  district  in  the  vicinity 
of  London  was  explored,  and  hundreds  of  people  were  found  in 
a  state  of  the  most  deplorable  ignorance  and  poverty.  For  their 
sake-  an  evening  service  was  opened,  and  the  most  destitute  were 
furnished  with  suitable  garments  to  enable  them  to  attend.  The 
effort  was  frustrated  by  the  abusive  and  violent  conduct  of 
vicious  youth,  who  pelted  the  people  and  their  Teachers,  M  well 
as  the  buildine  where  they  were,  with  stones  and  other  missiles. 
It  was  then  thought  best  to  attempt  to  bring  these  youth  under 


56 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Hark !  to  a  Voice  that  from  the  Valley  breaks ; 
From  Western  prairies,  rivers,  forests,  lakes;  — 
Young  men !  who  crowd  the  Atlantic's  narrow  mart, 
Come !  and  explore  the  Mississippi's  heart. 


some  good  influences.  They  were  already  far  advanced  in  crimi- 
nal courses. 

The  evening  service  being  exchanged  for  an  evening  School, 
the  scene  which  the  new  assembly  presented,  beggars  all  descrip- 
tion. The  Teachers  could  secure  no  order,  and  the  intervals  of 
silence  within  the  School  were  disturbed  by  the  showers  of  mis- 
siles on  the  roof  of  the  building,  by  those  who  were  without. 

To  preserve  the  public  peace,  it  was  necessary  to  have  the 
police  in  attendance.  Occasionally,  indeed,  there  was  a  cessa- 
tion of  noise  from  screams,  catcalls,  whistles,  falling  forms,  and 
other  strange  sounds,  but  the  moment  there  was  an  attempt  to 
sing  a  hymn,  many  would  begin  a  profane  and  often  indecent 
song,  and  all  attempt  at  worship  failed. 

Not  discouraged  by  these  difficulties,  the  promoters  of  the 
School  called  for  aid ;  and  several  warm-hearted,  self-denying 
friends  came  into  the  midst  of  this  mob-like  company,  and  thus 
by  dividing  the  labor,  and  assigning  a  small  number  to  the  care 
of  each,  they  seemed  to  be  reduced  to  some  kind  of  order.  Not 
a  session  of  the  School  past,  however,  without  some  outbreaking 
of  violent  rudeness  and  insult. 

Of  the  Girl's  School  we  have  statements  showing  the  urgent 
necessity  of  similar  provision  for  them.  A  Keport  before  us 
says :  "  Scenes  of  cruelty  and  barbarity  sometimes  occur,  even 
among  the  female  classes.  In  one  class,  containing  six  girls, 
they  quarrelled,  and  continued  fighting  until  their  mouths  were 
literally  'filled  with  blood.'"  The  Keport  adds,  "The  attend- 
ance of  this  latter  class  is  very  uncertain ;  they  generally  come 
in  gangs,  probably  at  times  when  they  have  committed  some 
misdemeanor,  to  take  shelter,  for  a  short  season,  from  the  hands 
of  justice." 


TBI  St  N DAY  SCHOOL.  57 

Too,  taught  where  oaks  the  northern  mountains 

u'h,  beneath  the  persimmon  and  lime.*    [climb, 
Ami  you,  of  Woman's  all  controlling  mind, 
Whose  mission  'tis  to  polish  rude  mankind, 

The  "  Ragged  School  Union "  was  formed  in  April,  1844,  by 
a  body  of  Sunday  School  Teachers  connected  with  various  evan- 
gelical denominations.  In  a  short  time  public  attention  was 
attracted  to  the  scheme.  Lord  Ashley,  and  several  of  the  nobil- 
ity expressed  an  interest  in  its  success.  The  first  Report  gave  a 
-  boob,  having  an  average  attendance  of  two 
IfcimiBli  Children  and  two  hundred  Teachers. 

Windsor,  (one  of  the  royal  residences,)  a  li  Ragged  School" 
has  been  established  by  a  chimney  sweep,  —  himself  reclaimed 
from  deep  wretchedness,  —  and  he  was  now  overseeing  a  School 
of  one  hundred  poor  Boys  and  Girls,  from  eight  to  ten  years  of 
age.  So  great  confidence  is  felt  in  the  plan,  that  at  Epping,  —  a 
densely  populated  place,  —  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
was  raised  by  voluntary  subscriptions  to  open  a  School.  By  the 
last  account  we  have  seen,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  these 
Schools,  in  or  near  London,  is  not  less  than  twenty-six.     The 

*  To  the  reasons  which  the  preceding  pages  offer  for  such  an 
Appeal,  especially  to  Sunday  School  Teachers,  may  be  added  the 
fact  that  the  Census  of  1840  shows  the  number  of  Children  in 
the  West,  who  then  attended  no  School  of  any  kind,  to  be  one 
million.  Over  one  hundred  thousand  of  these  are  from  the  total 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  Children  in  Kentucky  alone.  The  Governor  of  that  State, 
in  a  lata  Message,  S»ys  \  M  We  have  on  our  statute  book  what  is 
denominated  a  system  of  common  Schools,  but  hitherto  it  has 
been  barren  of  results."  As  to  Indiana,  the  State  Journal  says 
that  '•  there  are  over  thirty  thousand  one  hundred  persons  of 
twenty  years  of  age  or  more,  who  are  unable  either  to  read  or 
write." 


58 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Say  not  your  sex  precludes  you  from  the  toil 
The  lily  hand  may  win  and  wear  the  spoil. 
A  woman's  faith  and  constancy  have  power 
To  turn  the  battle  in  a  doubtful  hour. 


average  attendance  of  Pupils,  two  thousand  five  hundred ;  and  of 
Teachers,  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

The  Reports  published  by  these  Schools  are  very  interesting, 
and  record  many  cases  of  good  arising  from  their  operation.  In 
the  Report  of  a  School  in  St.  Giles's,  it  is  stated  that  "  great  im- 
provement has  taken  place  in  the  general  conduct  of  the  Scholars. 
Here  there  is  both  a  male  and  female  adult  class,  a  sewing  class, 
and  also  a  place  for  the  Scholars  to  wash  before  going  into  School ; 
thirty-five  have  become  depositors  to  the  provident  fund,  and 
thirty-three  of  the  Scholars  have  been  either  wholly  or  partially 
clothed  out  of  another  fund  for  that  purpose,  and  placed  in  re- 
spectable situations  during  the  present  year."  The  intimate 
knowledge  many  of  the  Scholars  have  acquired  of  the  leading 
truths  and  doctrines  of  Christianity,  their  attention  to  the  instruc- 
tions imparted  by  their  Teachers,  the  correctness  with  which  the 
weekly  texts  have  been  learned,  and  their  altered  behavior  in 
and  out  of  School,  give  hopeful  indication  that  much  good  has 
been  accomplished. 

"  The  School  in  Jurston  Street,  Gloucester  Street,  Westmin- 
ster Road  has  been  held  every  Sabbath  evening  during  the  last 
six  years,  and  through  it  upwards  of  seven  thousand  children 
and  young  persons,  of  the  most  abandoned  habits  have  passed, 
many  of  whom  have  learned  not  only  to  read  and  write,  but  have 
become  useful  and  creditable  members  of  society;  but  as  the 
time  for  instruction  is  so  limited,  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  open 
a  new  and  separate  School,  near  the  same  locality,  as  a  day 
School.  Vast  numbers  of  these  youths  are  continually  manifest- 
ing a  desire  to  attend  to  instruction,  if  the  time  be  made  to  suit 
their  convenience."  The  following  occurs  in  Gray's  Yard  Report 
for  the  past  year :   "  One  boy,  whose  conduct  as  a  Scholar  was 


THK     SUNDAY     SCHOOL.  59 

To  Woman,  lofty  energies  belong;  — 

false   is   History  —  false   the   Poet's   song. 

Lately  we  were  electrified  by  news 
Of  glorious  triumph  over  Vera  Cruz  ; 

formerly  very  bad,  is  now  a  Teacher  in  the  School,  and  a  member 
of  a  Christian  Church  ;  and  two  others,  who  had  been  Scholars, 
have  lately  been  drafted  into  the  Bible  Class  of  a  neighboring 
School  of  a  better  kind.  Another  youth,  who  was  frequently 
warned  of  his  dan-rer.  raooJvd  to  forsake  his  evil  companions, 
and  went  to  reside  elsewhere,  in  order  to  be  out  of  their  way. 
BOW  filling  a  useful  statiou  in  society,  and  gaining  an  honest 
living  by  industry  and  care." 

'•  The  plan  of  a  lending  library,  on  a  small  scale,  has  been 
tried  in  two  or  three  Schools,  and  the  results  are  very  encourag- 
ing, the  books  being  generally  returned  regularly  and  in  good 
order.  The  committee  are  anxious  to  extend  this  plan,  and  also 
to  distribute  interesting  little  story-books  and  tracts  amongst  the 
Children,  especially  as  they  are  found  frequently  to  read  them 
aloud  to  their  parents  at  home.  The  committee  intend  likewi- 1 
shortly  to  supply  Bibles  and  Testaments,  at  half  price,  to  the 
Children  who  can  read,  and  they  have  reason  to  believe  that  many 
will  be  thus  subscribed  for, 

"  The  committee  have  not  yet  been  able  to  carry  out  their 
plan  of  having  a  place  for  washing  attached  to  every  School,  but 
a  paid  teacher  has  been  tried  at  two  or  three  (in  order  to  have  the 
School  open  several  evenings  a-week,  as  well  as  Sunday),  and  it 
has  been  found  to  answer  very  well.  It  does  not  appear  to  dis- 
courage or  drive  away  voluntary  teachers  (who  are  always  wel- 
come)." 

It  may  not  be  that  we  have  precisely  the  same  class  of  youth 
in  our  cities  that  are  found  in  London,  and  perhaps  the  term 
"  Ragged  Schools"  would  not  be  appropriate  to  such  an  MMm- 
blage  here  5  but  if  public  statements  on  the  subjects  are  to  be 


L 


60 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Where  men  and  horses,  and  artillery  trains, 
Wheel,  foot,  and  fetlock  rolled  in  blood  and  brains. 
Yet  why  rehearse  the  horrors  acted  then? 
You  are  not  ravening  soldiers  —  you  are  Men  !  * 

credited,  there  are  thousands  who  must  be  constrained  by  just 
such  means  to  an  abandonment  of  their  evil  courses,  or  they 
will  pursue  them  to  a  fatal  end.  We  have  room  but  for  a  few 
paragraphs. 

Of  Boston,  it  is  said  "  that  no  less  than  twelve  boys,  under 
eighteen  years  of  age,  are  confined  in  the  city  gaol.  Gangs  of 
boys  roam  through  the  streets  every  night,  seeking  opportunities 
to  plunder.  During  the  summer,  nearly  every  shop  in  the  lower 
part  of  Broad  Street  has  been  broken  open,  chiefly  by  these  youth 
ful  depredators." 

"  Gangs  of  vicious  boys  are  prowling  about  the  streets  defying 
the  law,  and  putting  peaceful  citizens  in  terror  by  their  notorious 
and  violent  proceedings."  After  stating  some  instances  of  vio- 
lence and  outrage,  it  is  stated  :  —  "  In  fact  no  man  who  is  averse 
to  repelling  force  by  force,  is  safe  for  a  moment  near  these  out- 
laws." 

"  For  months  a  large  portion  of  all  the  criminals  who  have 
crowded  our  police  and  municipal  courts  have  been  minors." 


*  Shooting  down  Women.  —  A  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Commercial  Advertiser,  under  date  of  Mexico,  October 
29th,  1847,  says:  "  During  the  night  of  the  14th,  our  sharp  shoot- 
ers were  scattered  and  posted  over  the  city,  in  the  cathedral 
spires,  and  domes,  and  on  all  elevated  housetops,  whence  they 
picked  off  the  Mexican  populace  by  hundreds.  Whenever  a 
Mexican  was  caught  in  arms,  he  was  shot  at  once.  Some  were 
thrown  headlong  from  the  housetops  into  the  streets  below. — 
Women  were  shot  when  discovered  in  the  act  of  passing  loaded 
muskets  to  the  men  in  the  streets.  Never  were  the  infuriated 
people  of  Mexico  so  summarily  treated." 


I  UK     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  61 


It  chanced  the  night  before  the  battered  walls 

( 

A  Spanish  Lady,  whose  betraying  signs 
Revealed  the  spy,  was  taken  near  our  lines. 

"  The  Farm  School,  on  Thompson's  Island,  in  our  harbor,  has 
ura  accomplished  much  in  the  way  of  reformation.  The 
Police,  too,  of  Boston  are  effective,  and  lately  have  adopted  new 
measures  with  the  vagrant  boys  of  our  streets,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  Sabbath  profanation.  Yet,  sad  to  say,  the  above  picture 
of  sin  and  idleuess  is  not  overdrawn,  nor  inapplicable  at  this 
moment." 

In  Nmc  York,  ''it  is  estimated  that  at  least  twenty  thousand 
Children  and  Youth  are  entirely  unreached  by  Sunday  School  or 
other  religious  influence ;  a  large  portion  of  whom  are  already 
taking  the  first  steps  in  the  path  of  infamy  and  crime.  Some 
effort  has  been  made  for  their  rescue,  but  such  effort  must  be 
VMfly  increased,  if  we  would  make  any  perceptible  impression." 
"  The  temptations  and  excitements  to  crime  among  the  young, 
are  greatly  multiplied  by  the  corrupting  influence  of  a  corrupt 
press." 

Of  Philadelphia,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  chief  actors  in 
firemen's  riots,  and  other  outrages  upon  persons  and  property, 
are  found  to  be  abandoned  and  reckless  youths.  Clubs  or  Asso- 
ciations exist  with  savage  and  outlandish  names  —  the  members 
of  which  are  often  found  armed  with  deadly  weapons,  with  which 
they  have  attacked  peaceable  citizens,  as  if  to  show  their  con- 
tempt for  human  life  and  public  peace. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  at  least  a  thousand  youth  could 
be  mustered  within  two  miles  of  the  State  House,  all  prepared, 
within  and  without,  for  the  most  revolting  scenes  of  violence  and 
outrage.  How  many  thousands  are  under  training  to  fit  them  for 
the  same  ranks,  we  may  not  know;  but  for  these  thousand!  no 
adequate  provision  now  exists.  The  wi~e  and  good  of  all  c 
and  denominations   are  warned  of   the  state  of  things  around 

6 


62 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


In  the  red  glare  of  carnage,  death,  and  hell, 

Stood,  like  an  angel,  Donna  Isabel, 

Calm  and  observing;  and  to  question  dumb 

Of  whence  she  came  ?  and  wherefore  had  she  come  ? 

The  soldiers  felt  the  inexplicable  power 

Of  grace  and  beauty  their  dark  spirits  cower;  — 

And,  spite  of  habit,  her  they  could  not  vex;  — 

She  won  the  treatment  ever  due  her  sex. 

Our  cannon  called  —  still,  dauntless,  dared  refuse 

Capitulation  gallant  Vera  Cruz.  * 

And  while  her  native  city  mocked  our  arms, 

She  —  a  true  Spaniard  —  wore  the  lofty  charms 

That  Nature  gives  the  generous  heart,  to  hide 

Its  bitter  anguish  with  a  veil  of  pride. 

them.  Will  they  awaken  to  a  sense  of  impending  danger  and 
open  their  heart.?,  hands,  and  purses,  to  supply  the  means  of 
averting  it  ?  —  Papers  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 

A  building  has  been  lately  erected  in  Philadelphia,  of  a  size 
to  accommodate  one  thousand;  to  be  filled  from  the  ranks  of 
those  who  are  not  at  present  connected  with  any  Sunday  School, 
and  especially  designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  extreme  destitute 
and  ignorant,  among  the  Children  and  Youth.  May  the  example 
be  speedily  imitated  by  sister  cities,  equally  needing  just  such 
an  edifice ! 


*It  will  be  seen  that  this  word  —  of  Latin  derivation  —  is 
pronounced,  as  in  the  text,  and  on  page  59,  for  the  sake  of  the 
rhyme.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  a  matter  of  sufficient  importance  for 
a  note ;  yet  it  is  hoped  that  the  license  may  be  pardoned. 


I  111       -I  \I»AY     14    BOOL.  63 

But   when  the   Stars  and   Stripes  of  victory's  band 

Waved  o'er  the   Serpent-Bird  of  her  dear  land, 

Telling  that  all  was  lost,  save  honor,  she 

Her  noble  soul  resigned  to  agony; 

With  tears  lamenting  that  the  heaps  of  slain 

Were  not  her  pillows  —  she  had  lived  in  vain! 

To  Woman  lofty  energies  belong, 

And  true  is  History  —  true  the  Poet's  song. 

As  cloud  and  tire,  twin  guides,  by  night  and  day 
Mar-hailed  the  tribes  along  their  desert  way, 
When  Egypt  saw  the  wondrous  pillar  glide, 
And  blackness,  only,  showed  one  frowning  side ; 
The  other,  still,  to  Israel's  earnest  sight, 
Shone  on  their  path,  a  glowing  orb  of  light; 
So  Earth,  though  dark  as  Heaven  beholds  her  now, 
Has  precious  jewels  blazing  on  her  brow. 
The  thoughtful  eye  sees  in  her  lowly  state 
Immortal  forms ;  —  sees  glories  on  her  wait ; 
Sees  her,  the  object  of  intense  desire 
To  those  who  stand,  or  fly,  —  angelic  flames  of  fire  ! 
A   lerapb  sings,  by  Love  divinely  taught;  — 
Earth,  wand'ring  Earth,  is  in  that  seraph's  thought. 
Around  the  throne  celestial  harpers  throng; 
Earth,  in  her  sin,  is  subject  of  their  song. 


64 


THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 


Marred  by  her  folly  in  her  Maker's  view, 
She  yet  has  treasure  and  attractions  too. 
While  roll  the  cycles  of  the  eternal  skies, 
Earth  is  the  centre  of  unnumbered  eyes ;  — 
Yes !  in  her  dust  and  ruins  has  a  phase 
Of  marvellous  beauty  to  an  angel's  gaze. 

Redemption !  how  mysteriously  is  stirred 
The  heart's  deep  echo  at  the  charming  word! 
'Tis  this  exalts  our  planet,  sunk  so  low, 
And  spans  her  tempests,  an  ethereal  bow. 
'Tis  this  invests  her  with  a  robe,  whose  hue 
Of  shining  wonders,  Eden  never  knew. 
Beyond  its  wealth,  when  morning  has  unrolled 
Its  flaming  curtains,  dipt  in  molten  gold  — 
Beyond  its  glory  when  o'er  western  skies 
The  twilight  drops  her  veil  of  crimson  dies, 
The  robe  of  Mercy  on  the  sinner  shines ; 
Woven  throughout  with  Beauty's  perfect  lines. 

Have  you  seen  ?  have  you  seen  ?  where  the  battle  is 


The  banners  of  Light  and  of  Night  are  unfurled  ? 
Have  you  heard?  have  you  heard?  the  hurrah, 
where  engaging 


1  II K     SUNDAY    SCHOOL.  65 

Are  the  soldiers  of   God  and  the   Kings  of  the 
world  ? 
And  this  is  the  conflict  of  Goodness  and  Sin, 

Begun  when  our  father  from  Paradise  fell; 
And  Time  has  been  patiently  gathering  in 

And  mustering  the  forces  of  heaven  and  hell. 

TVe  should  fear !  we  should  fear !  as  we  daily  dis- 
cover 

X.'W  weakness,  new  folly,  we'll  only  have  loss; 
We  will  hope  !  we  will  hope !  as  we  old  ground 
recover 

And  take  new  possessions,  we'll  win  at  the  Cross. 
For  an  angel  of  Charity  with  us  behold !  —     [she 

Tis  the  Spirit  of  Union! — the  churches  lias 
Side  by  side  in  the  contest  for  Jesus  enrolled;  — 

"  Distinct  as  the  billows,  yet  one  as  the  sea." 

Have  you  seen?  have  you  seen?  where  the  battle  is 
raging 
The  banners  of  Light  and  of  Night  are  unfurled? 
Have  you  heard?   have  you  heard?   the  hurrah, 
where  engaging 
Are  the  soldiers  of   God  and   the   Kings  of  the 
world  ? 

6* 


66  THE     SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Yes !  and  we  in  that  strife  between  Satan  and  man 
For   Truth    take   the   buckler    and    helmet    and 
shield ; 
With  the   Right,  with  the  Light,  with  the  Leader 
in  van 
To  die  in  the  trenches,  or  conquer  the  field! 


POEMS. 


THE    LATE    ALEXANDEB   HENRY.* 

PRESIDENT     OF     THE     AMERICAN     SUNDAY    SCHOOL     UNION 


He  sat  with  men  whose  high  debate 
"Was  not  the  nation's  laws  to  frame; 

Though  on  their  silent  toils  the  State 
Might  build  a  future  glorious  name. 

*  First  President  of  the  Society,  from  its  organization  to  his 
death ;  which  took  place  in  Philadelphia,  August  13th,  1847,  in 
the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Officers  and  Managers 
of  the  Society,  held  at  their  hoase,  August  16th,  the  following 
Resolutions,  with  a  Preamble,  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  while  we  thank  God  for  the  blessing  bestowed 
in  the  gift  of  His  servant,  now  departed  from  us,  we  cannot  but 


68  THE    LATE    ALEXANDER    HENRY. 

Their  silent  toils,  to  supervise 

A  work  that  spite  of  Error  grows;  — 

To  stud  its  gloom  with  starry  eyes, 

And  deck  the  world  with  Sharon's  Rose. 

Prepared  by  zeal,  religion,  skill, 
And  courage  for  a  doubtful  plan, 

'Twas  his  the  Pilot's  post  to  fill 

On  voyage  whose  noble  aim  was  Man. 

Whose  noble  aim  was  simply  sought 

Through  channels  of  the  Infant  Mind ;  — 

To  enter  and  to  lodge  a  thought 
That  should  forever  bless  mankind ! 

deplore  the  severe  loss  to  the  Society,  to  our  country,  and  to  the 
cause  of  truth  in  the  world.  We  reverently  bow  to  the  will  of 
the  All-wise  Disposer  of  all  things ;  praying,  that  He  will  raise  up 
those  who  may  manfully  and  successfully  bear  the  banners  of 
His  people,  in  their  conflict  with  the  powers  of  darkness,  causing 
truth  and  holiness  to  triumph  over  ignorance  and  sin. 

Resolved,  That  the  Officers  and  Managers,  with  all  persons  in 
the  service  of  the  Society,  will  attend  the  funeral  of  our  deceased 
President. 

Resolved,  That  the  sympathies  of  the  Board  be  expressed  to 
the  family  of  Mr.  Henry,  on  this,  their  great  bereavement,  with 
our  prayers  that  they  may  enjoy  the  consolation  which  God  so 
freely  gives  to  his  children,  and  of  which  they  may  assuredly 
partake,  who  can  confidently  trust  in  the  happiness  of  a  faithful, 
humble  follower  of  the  Lord. 


T1IK     LATE    ALEXANDER     IIKNKY.  C'J 

• 

Hit  kern  perception  saw  the  lip 

Of  ready  scorn  a  failure  sting ; 
His  faith  beheld  the  goodly  Ship        [bring. 

Which  God's  free  winds  to  port  would 

He  ventured  the  uncounted  gold 
Of  mind  and  soul  to  Jesus  given  ; 

He  gained  on  earth. a  thousand  fold, 
And  Mercy's  waiting  crown  in  Heaven. 

A  rare  and  happy  lot,  that  blends 

The  English  sense,  —  the  Irish  heart, — 

The  good  and  gifted,  constant  friends, — 
And  in  the  Book  of  Life  a  part ! 


70 


GRACE    AND    POSITION. 


GRACE    AND    POSITION. 

'In  the  religious  life,  we  are  the  creatures,  not  only  of  Grace,   but  of   Position."  —  Upham. 
TO    MY    FRIEND,    MISS   3.    S.    M ,    OF    SALEM. 

FOR    TWELVE     TEARS    AFFLICTED    WITH    SICKNESS. 


Temptation,  toil,  and  suffering,  here, 
Are  methods  in  the  work  of  Grace. 

Instrumentalities  appear 

In  the  relations  Mind  and  Place 

Each  hold  to  each. 

God  by  Position  loves  to  teach. 

We  tint  the  heavens  with  colors  warm ; 

How  soft  and  fair  the  landscapes  lie ! 
But  God  calls  up  the  chilling  storm  ; 

With  sorrows  he  disturbs  our  sky. 


GRACE    AND    POSITION.  71 

Our  projects  sown 

Mature  to  harvests  of  His  own. 

Hence  the  afflictions,  that  like  clouds 
Gather  and  blacken  round  the  man, — 

Singly,  or  in  appalling  crowds 
Beleaguering,  are  within  the  plan 

II e  deigns  to  trace, 

Who  acts  upon  the  Mind  by  Place. 

Daniel  might  ne'er  these  confines  spurn, 
And  pierce  the  everlasting  scenes, 

Till  with  the  lions  he  should  learn 
What  God  by  sign  and  vision  means. 

The  dreadful  den 

Sharpened  the  prophet's  eagle  ken. 

Paul  for  his  Master  could  not  wield 

The  burning  sword  of  Truth  and  Right, 

Till  he  was  smitten  in  a  field 

Whose  glory  dimmed  the  noonday  light. 

Blinded  and  slain. 

That  he  might  see  and  live  again. 

Bunyan,  whose  Pilgrim  keeps  the  road 
By  which  the  ransomed  gain  the  sky, 


72  GRACE    AND    POSITION. 

Whose  Progress  guides  to  Heaven's  abode, 

And  shall,  till  sun  and  planets  die, 
In  fiery  pains 
Shows  us  how  Grace  through  Trial  reigns. 

'Tis  wondrous,  that  by  such  a  path, 
So  different  from  our  fairy  dreams, — 

Beset  with  sadness,  fear,  and  wrath, 

Whose  miry  sloughs  engulph  our  schemes, 

Which  fiends  infest  — 

God  leadeth  to  the  saints'  sweet  rest. 

And  yet,  dear  heart!  these  thorns,  so  rife, 
That  bruise  us  on  the  wintry  way, 

Are  branches  of  the  Tree  of  Life, 

Whose  leaves  and  fruits  will  ne'er  decay. 

Whose  summer  bloom 

Will  flourish  o'er  Creation's  tomb. 

Thou  sigh'st  for  youth  so  nearly  fled ; 

For  years  in  disappointment  spent ; 
A  blighted  spirit  —  body  dead;  — 

Hadst  thou  accomplished  thy  intent, 
To  Earth  and  Heaven 
What  revenues  by  thee  were  given ! 


GRACE    AND     POSITION.  73 

And  yet,  no  earnest  herald's  Up 
On  Carmel  or  in  sweet  Cashmere, 

Or  where  the  frozen  Arctics  dip 
Their  poles — in  melody  so  clear 

Sings  of  the  Cross, 

As  thou,  who'st  gained  its  wealth  by  loss. 

O  blessed  Preacher!  thy  faint  word 
Has  fallen  on  some  heart  with  power; 

Thy  faith  has  some  disciple  stirred, 
Thy  hope  has  gilt  his  darkened  hour. 

The  weak  has  won  !  — 

The  suffering  saint  shall  hear :   "  Well  done  !  " 

In  this  stern  warfare  thou  and  I 
Are  creatures  of  Controlment  still, 

That  seeks  and  brings  the  wanderer  nigh  — 
Educes  good  from  seeming  ill  — 

And  saves  by  Grace, 

That  wisely  acts  on  Mind  by  Place. 


74  THAT    IS    ABLE    TO    KEEP    YOU. 


"THAT  IS  ABLE  TO  PEP  YOU  FROM  FALLING." 


That  is  able  to  keep  me,  an  ignorant  child, 
Who  wounds  every  finger  with  thorns  of  the  wild ; 
Oh  Father !  so  teach  me  and  keep  me,  as  Thine, 
That  the  Rose  of  Religion  shall  only  be  mine. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me  in  passionate  youth ; 
Discovering  my  errors ;  alluring  to  Truth ;  — 
The  falsehood  of  Earth  ever  willing  to  show 
To  the  heart  that  dreams  not  of  its  wearisome  woe. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me  in  manhood's  estate, 
From  tempters  that  woo,  and  destroyers  that  wait; 
From  poison  that  actively  courses  within, — 
The  sap  of  the  Upas,  whose  nature  is  sin. 


THAT    IS    ABLE    TO    KEEP    YOU. 


That  is  able  to  keep  ine  in  desolate  age ; 
That  leaf,  too,  has  follies  inscribed  on  its  page; 
The  thread  of  my  life  may  right  sympathies  bind  — 
From  beginning  to  end  't  is  with  wrong  intertwined. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me  in  penury's  hour, 
And  the  terrible  test  of  prosperity's  power; 
In  comfort  and  ease,  or  when  sickness  attends ; 
In  communion  of  minds ;  in  bereavement  of  friends. 


That  is  able  to  keep  me  in  crises  of  Life;  — 
On  the  wave's  peaceful  bosom ;  on  billows  of  strife ; 
And  bring  me,  with  songs,  to  the  coveted  shore, 
"SVhere  the  storm  and  the  wreck  are  remembered  no 
more. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me  if,  courting  the  sun, 
I  soar  in  my  ecstacy  —  every  thing  won  !  — 
And  as  able,  when  down  in  the  depths  of  despair, 
I  write  myself:   "fool  —  sad  eternity's  heir.7' 

That  is  able  to  keep  me  securer  than  he 
Who  ventured  the  trial  and  lost  at  the  tree ; 
In  Adam  I  fall,  weak  as  chaff  or  the  sand, — 
In  Christ  I  arise  and  immovably  stand. 


76  THAT    IS    ABLE    TO    KEEP    YOU. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me;  —  none  truly  is  kept 
Over  whom,  for  a  moment,  the  Watchman  has  slept ; 
Though  I  walk  all  my  days  in  the  pathway  of  light, 
If  at  last  left  of  Mercy,  I  stumble  in  night. 

That  is  able  to  keep  me;  —  and  able  art  Thou 
Who  hast  kept  to  the  present — who  keepest  me  now; 
I  am  "faint,  yet  pursuing" — Hove!  —  keep  me  then 
Through  faith  to  salvation,  forever,  Amen. 


THE    TWO     SHIPS.  77 


THE  TWO  SHIPS 


••  In  the  year  1620,  a  Dutch  Ship  imported  into  Virginia  the 
first  Slaves  that  were  ever  seen  on  the  North  American  continent. 
In  the  same  year  the  k  May  Flower  '  brought  the  Pilgrims  to 
Plymouth." 

A  vessel  on  the  deeps ! 
Her  stolen  freight  is  human  flesh  and  blood ; 

Eternal  justice  sleeps, — 
Else,  sure,  would  flame  some  attribute  of  God, 

When  men  make  void  His  law. 
And  thus  with   Mercy's  Golden  Rule  wage  war. 

In-ulted  billows  bear 
The  pirate  kecd  from  old  worlds  to  the  new  ; 

To  poison  the  free  air  [blue 

With  bondmen's  breath;  and  where  bend  -kies  of 


THE    TWO    SHIPS. 


O'er  green  fresh  vale  and  hill, 
The  vigorous  soil  with  Slavery's  scathe  to  kill. 

Those  "chattels,"  bought  and  sold, 
Those  few  poor  victims,  ten  scdre  years  ago, 

Such  is  the  lust  of  gold  — 
Are  children's  children  now,  in  tears  and  woe. 

Freemen  by  Freedom's  power  [hour ! 

Have  made  them  —  they're  three  millions  at  this 


Three  million  slaves 
To  waste  o'er  cotton  and  the  sugar  cane, 

Then  fill  their  graves, 
And  leave  Guilt's  legacy,  a  damning  stain 

On  thee,  unhappy  land ! 
Which  e'en  effacing  Age  immortally  shall  brand. 

A  vessel  on  the  deeps ! 
Her  noble  freight  is  human  flesh  and  blood ; 

No  rifled  Slave-Coast  weeps ;  — 
Around  her  hover  airs  and  smiles  of  God;  — 

Peace  fans  the  favoring  gales, 
And  Righteousness  is  with  her  as  she  sails. 

In  Winter's  dreary  reign 
Of  ice  and  cold,  she  nears  the  Western  world;- 


mi:   two    siurs.  79 

The  Northern  blasts  complain ; 
The  clouds  of  sleet  and  snow  above  her  curled 

Fling  down  their  wrath  —  what  then? 
Her  quivering  ribs  are  mighty — they  hold  men! 

Men  of  the  pure  old  stock, 
Who  haste  alike  from  Prince  and  Prelate's  ban, 

To  build  upon  the  rock 
A  rest  for  Conscience  and  a  home  for  Man, 

Where  Truth  and  Light 
Shall  sway  a  nation  by  the  rule  of  Right. 

Two  hundred  years  have  flown ;  — 
The  South  drinks  now  that  Hollander's  deep  curse; 

Her  cup  alone  !  — 
Blessings  are  dropping  like  the  dew  on  us ; 

"  By  Heaven,"  —  say  heart  and  lip  — 
"  New  England  owes  them  to  that  Pilgrim  Ship ! " 


80  THE    SILENT    STREET. 


THE  SILENT  STREET. 


In  Boston  is  a  Street  —  about  a  rod 

From  her  famed  Common  —  by  men  seldom  trod 

Never  by  the  mere  lounger,  or  the  fair, 

To  kill  off  time,  or  sport  attractions  there. 

'Tis  shunned  by  such  as  play  the  flutterer's  part 

In  folly's  sunshine ;  —  by  the  wise  in  heart 

Its  thought  is  entertained.     Ranged  on  each  side 

Are  mansions,  not  of  opulence  or  pride; 

Of  structure  simple  ;  taste  was  not  invoked 

In  rearing  these.     Envy  itself,  provoked, 

Could  find  no  food  in  gorgeous  trappings  here. 

Yet  taste  is  wanting  not,  though  still  severe ; 

And  you  may  note,  hi  marble,  o'er  the  door, 

Each  owner's  name.     Of  Fame's  selectest  store 

Are  some  of  these. 


THE    SILENT    STREET.  81 

Here,  where  earth's  kindred  meet 
And  friends  convene,  how  silent  is  the  Street ! 
Each,   in  due  time,  takes  lodgings,  and  the  gate, 
Closed  sullenly  upon  him,  seems  to  wait. 
Patient,  yet   surely,  till  'tis  oped  again, 
And  one  more  swells  the  long  forgotten  train 
Of  those  who,  once  within  that  sombre  cell, 
Till  time  breaks  up,  in  solitude  shall  dwell. 

Two,  lately,    t  was  my  lot  to  see,  and  they 
Were  here  to  take  possession.     In  array, 
Not  like  the  accustomed  bustle  that  attends, 
Methought,  the  change  of  habitation;  —  friends 
In  concourse,  sad,  were  with  them;  —  holy  rite, 
With  prayer  and  dirge,  was  ordered;  and  the  sight 
Of  these  new  tenants  was  unwonted,  such 
As  in  gay  life  we  see  not.     There  was  much 
Of  thought,  intense,  prevailing,  as  on  them, 
Mother  and  child  —  men  looked.     A   very  gem 
Of  beauty  was  that  infant;    save,   its  cheeks 

stilly  pale  ;  and  this  flower  of  three  weeks  — 
Folding  itself  in  its  sweel  bod,  a-  \  were 
Shrinking  away  from  our  rough  winds  of  care  — 
Seemed  sleeping.  —  'T  was  a  kind  and  quiet  sleep. 
lother,  too!  the  voice  of  friendship  said: 


82  THE     SILENT    STREET. 

And  truth  confirmed  it  —  "grace  and  nature  shed 

Early,  on  her,  attraction.     She  was  one 

Not  formed  to  dazzle  in  the  gairish  sun, 

But  loving  shade,  yet  not  inactive  shade,        [fade, 

She  grew  and  bloomed,  and  now,  where  such  ne'er 

She  lives,  with  virtuous  names  not  born  to  die, 

And  her  bright  record  is  inscribed  on  high." 

And  is  she  here?  —  why  weep  these?  —  why,  by 
Of  sickly  taper,  to  this  house  of  night  [hght 

Comes  she?     They  pause,  I  notice,  and  delay 
The  journeyer's  entrance.     Grieving  friends  give 
And  he,  who  with  that  partner  long  had  dwelt  [way, 
In  fairer  mansion,  by  her  side  has  knelt 
In  anguish,  sore,  and  takes  the  last  fond  look. 
Oh,  God !  't  was  the  heart's  agony  that  shook 
Thy  servant  then.     Will  he  not  tarry  too  ? 
Is  no  bed  decked  within,  for  love  so  true  ? 
Ah,  in  death's  undress  she  is  hither  brought ; 
Her  couch  is  damp,  her  chamber  cheerless,  —  nought 
To  welcome  her  and  babe.  —  What  Street  is  this, 
Whose  dwellers  thus  are  shorn  of  home's  sweet  bliss  ? 
And  to  the  world's  turmoil  and  daily  strife, 
The  business,  pleasure,  weal  and  woe  of  life 
Are  all  insensible  ?  —  A  willing  search 
Will  find  it  soon.     'Tis  under  St.  Paul's  Church. 


n    si'Ikits    OF   Tin:   JTJ8T    nivr    BOAR.       88 


YE  SPIRITS  OF  TUE  JUST  THAT  SOAR 


Yr.  Spirits  of  the  Just,  that  soar 
Beyond  those  starry  fields,  sublime, 

Dwellers  in  lijrht  with  whom  are  o'er 
The  pageants  and  the  tears  of  time, - 

Say,  arc  the  thoughts   we  entertain 
Of  yonder  unknown  worlds,  untrue  ? 
those   bright   mysteries  only   vain? 

Dissolved,  or  nnrevealed  to  you? 

Thon  disembodied  one,  whom  here 
'T  was  ours,   in   fellowship   to  know  — 

Who,  buoyed  by   Faith,  without  a  fear, 
Fled  from  endearments  prized  below- 


84  YE    SPIRITS     OF    THE    JUST    THAT  SOAR. 

On  the  dear  hopes  that  soothed  thy  bed, 
Has  disappointment  flung  its  pall  ? 

Or  dost  thou  bosom  now  thy  head 
On  Him,  thou  chosest  as  thy  All  ? 

Prophets  —  a  long  and  awful  train, 

Pilgrims,  that  bowed  beneath  the  rod, 
And  martyrs,  who  from  racks  of  pain 

Soared  to  the  presence  of  your  God  — 
Earth  gave  ye  not  her  poor  renown; 

Humility  your  only  gem  — 
'Twas  yours  to  seek  a  nobler  crown, 

Say,  wear  ye  now  that  diadem? 

Forbear !  —  yon  ministering  one 

Thine  eyes,  in  flesh,  shall  never  see ; 
The  dull  cold  sepulchre,  its  own, 

Mortal !  shall  never  yield  to  thee. 
Yet  on  futurity's  long  night 

A  cheering  beam  of  heaven  is  shed  ; 
Receive  thou  Revelation's  light, 

And  not  the  visions  of  the  dead. 


WAITING    FOR    THE    GRAVE.  85 


WAITING    FOR    THE    GRAVE 


"Wearied  with  play,  that  night,  my  sweet  first-born 
Betimes  had  sunk  to  slumber,  and  he  now 
Quietly  nestled  on  his  pillow,  that 
To  Innocence  and  Childhood  lent  sweet  dreams. 
ilept,  unheeding  the  wild  storm  which  held, 
That   winter  night,  rude  empire.     All  within 
Was  quiet,  —  midnight's  stern  serenity 
Dwelt  in  each  chamber,  and  that  house  was  still 
And  calm,  in  the  repose  of  loneliness. 
Be  is  my  eldest,  and  a  parent  may 
Indulge  his  love.      Wrapt  in  his  dreams  he  lay, 
Tranquil  and  happy,  seeming.     He  is  fair, 
Y.t  fairer  seemed  he  than  his  wont  in  sleep. 
8 


86  WAITING   FOR    THE    GRAVE. 

His  rounded  arms  were  folded,  as  if  toil 

Were  ended  now,  and  he  in  balmy  rest 

Should  find  new  vigor  for  the  coming  day. 

His  flaxen  hair  lay  carelessly  upon 

His  polished  brow,  and  there  many  a  curl 

Rioted  in  luxuriance.     The  red  lips, 

That  pouted  at  my  lightest  kiss,  half  closed, 

Spoke  to  beholders  that  within  was  peace. 

Near  him  slept  Henry,  younger,  frailer  too; 

A  tender  plant  that  seemed  not  formed  to  bear 

The  ruder  winds  of  life.     He  slumbered  where 

He  coveted  to  slumber  —  in  her  arms 

Who  gave  him  being;  for  her  love  was  there 

To  shield  her  darling  boy ;  and  dearer  now 

To  that  sad  mother  was  her  little  one, 

And  closer  to  her  heart  she  pressed  him,  as  if  fear 

Had  taught  her,  he  too  would  that  couch  forsake. 

For  one  was  not  —  William,  that  lovely  one  — 

William,  who  constantly  had  slumbered  there 

With  his  twin-brother,  shared  not  now  that  bed. 

He  too  had  gone  to  rest  —  a  rest  how  sweet  — 

How  holy!  —  In  a  farther  room  he  lay, 

Wrapt  in  the  robe  of  whiteness  that  adorns 

Departed  innocence.     0,  how  composed, 

Sublime,  was  that  deep  sleep !     Still  he  slept  on 


PARTING    HVMN.  87 


In  all  the  beauty,  all  the  loveliness 

That  late  adorned  him.      Sickness  had  not  stolen 

One  grace  that  Death  had  not  threefold  restored. 

II<'   lay  before  me  in  his  coffin,   there 

So  tranquil,  that  unto  my  stricken  heart 

I  said,  u  he  is  not  dead  —  my  boy  but  sleeps." 

Aye,  long  might  I  believe  so,  were  it  not 

For  the  fixed  impress,  still  —  something  severe  — 

Even   in   smiles,   that  Death  doth  always  wear. 


PARTING     HYMN 


SUNG    BT    THE    PUPILS    OP    PHILLIPS'    ACADEMY,    ANDOVER,     AT    THE     ANNUAL 
EXAMINATION,     1847. 


"When  evil  and  good  were  in  Eden  discovered, 
And  man.  losing  innocence,  fell  from  his  state, 

Two  angels  about  him,  in  company  hovered, 
And  went  with  him  out  at  the  sentinelfed  gate. 


88 


PARTING    HYMN. 


The  angel  of  Light  has  since  followed  him,  ever, — 
So  hope  on  his  gourds,  a  sweet  blossom  may 
bloom ; 

The  angel  of  Shadow  has  left  his  side  never, — 
So  the  wanderer  may  learn  't  is  not  his  to  presume. 

There  's  Light  when  the  morning  in  glory  is  shining, 
And  slumber  and  visions  and  darkness  are  gone; 

There's  Shadow  when  gently  the  sun  is  declining, 
And  softness  and  sadness  and  silence  come  on. 

There 's  Light  his  horizon  of  pleasure  adorning, 

When  man  issues  forth  at  the  breaking  of  day: 
There's  Shadow  succeeding  the  freshness  of 


When  sorrow  at  evening  perplexes  his  way. 

And  Youth  with  his  barque  on  the  mirroring  ocean, 
The  prow  to  the  haven  and  streamers  at  helm  — 

Dreams  not  in  his  joy  of  the  angry  commotion, 
Where  tempests  are  rising  and  seas  overwhelm. 

We've  lingered  awhile  on  the  margin,  uncertain, — 
But  now  as  adventurers,  we  launch  on  the  wave ; 

We've  patiently  waited,  —  but  rises  the  curtain, 
And  ho !  for  the  drama  that  ends  with  the  grave. 


FREEDOM  S     HYMN. 


89 


Xot   so  —  tor  the  thought   that  had  birth  in  these 
bowers, 

Is  living,  enlarging,  and  ripening  its  plan,  — 
Wliile  eternity's  dial  is  telling  the  hours, 

To  influence  the  woe  or  the  welfare  of  man. 

For  him  in  whose  bosom  is  Rectitude  burning, 
For  Youth  in  his  pilgrimage  seeking  the  Right, 

There  's  a  Paradise  opened,  where  exiles  returning, 
Find  Shadow  all  lost  in  effulgence  of  Light. 


FREEDOM'S  HYMN   FOR  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


The  patriot  sires  in  glory  sleep; 

Their  sepulchre  is  holy  earth ; 
And  we  upon  their  ashes  keep 

The  Sabbath  of  a  nation's  birth. 

God  of  our  battles  !     Didst  not  Thou 
The  right  arm  of  those  warriors  guido, 
8* 


90 


FREEDOM  3    HYMN. 


When  they  for  Freedom  dealt  the  blow, 
And  freely  gave  their  own  heart's  tide? 

And  didst  not  Thou  along  our  shore 
Bid  angel  Peace  extend  her  wing; 

And  blood-stained  banners  wave  no  more, 
And  useful  Arts  and  Commerce  spring? 

These  are  thy  works,  oh  God !   and  we, 
The  sons  who  never  could  be  slaves, 

Who  proudly  view  fair  Freedom's  tree 
Expanding  o'er  our  father's  graves  — 

We  crush  the  mind  !  we  forge  the  chain  ! 

And  from  the  soil  by  charter  given, 
This  hallowed  hour,  the  sigh  of  pain 

Ascends,  accusing  us  to  Heaven. 

Will  mockery  ask,  this  Day,  what  spoil 
Shall  hearts  in  glad  oblation  yield,  — 

The  first-fruits  of  a  teeming  soil? 
Or  choicest  cattle  from  the  field? 

Will  solemn  vows  —  where  pceans  swell, 
Lauding  our  fabric's  goodly  plan  — 

Atone,  while  stripes  and  fetters  tell 
That  man  is  pitiless  to  man  ? 


TO     A     DKAF     AM)     VVSIH     GIKL.  91 

Vain  all!  —  Jehovah  lias  no  need 
Of  our  tirst-iruits  or  altar's  smoke; 

Dearer  to  Grod  is  Mercy's  deed; 
Nobler  to  break  Oppression's  yoke. 


TO    A    DEAF    AND    DUMB    GIRL 


I  grieve  not  Heaven  to  thee  denies 

The  attribute  of  speech, 
When  reading  in  those  starry  eyes 

All  that  the  mind  can  teach. 
I  grieve  not  no  assuring  tone 

Of  love,  bids  thee  rejoice ;  — 
Thou  favored  one  !  to  thee  is  given 

The  Spirit's  soothing  voice. 

I  grieve  not  that  to  thee  Life's  scroll 
—  For  such  is  Heaven's  will  — 

Is  unrevealed,  thy  gentle  soul 
Reads  not  that  page  of  ill. 


92  TO    A    DEAF    AND    DUMB    GIRL. 

Oh,  happy  maiden !  trace  not  thou 

Those  characters  of  fire ; 
They  tell  of  wrongs,  of  bitter  strife, 

And  blight  of  fond  desire. 

The  flickering  light  that  gilds  our  day, 

On  thee  may  never  shine, — 
I  grieve  not,  for  the  steady  ray 

Of  peace  is  ever  thine. 
And  pure  and  tranquil  is  that  rest 

Where  thought,  untroubled,  flows, 
As  waveless  ocean,  on  whose  breast 

The  moon-beam  seeks  repose. 

Shut  out  from  scenes  of  feverish  joy, 

Removed  from  grovelling  sense, 
Sublime  indeed  is  thy  employ 

With  high  Omnipotence. 
Far  from  the  din  of  this  low  sphere, 

Its  smiles,  or  frequent  woe, 
Thou  nearest  a  voice  we  cannot  hear, 

Of  things  we  cannot  know. 

Thou  drinkest  of  the  crystal  well, 
Whence  living  knowledge  flows ; 


MY    CHILDREN. 


93 


And  OB  that  fount  Ls  laid  a  spell, 
That  shuts  up  human  woes. 

Oh,  never,  nerer  may  the  sigh 
Of  agony,  severe, 

Thy  bosom  rend,  nor  that  mild  eye 
Be  dimmed  with  misery's  tear ! 


MY    CHILDREN. 


Yk  are  alive  to  bliss,  my  boys;  — 

Your  pulses  beat  in  healthful  play  ; 
Visions  of  peaceful  heartfelt  joys  — 

Do  they  not  hover  o'er  your  way  ? 
Your  bounding  bosoms,  light  and  free. 

Know  not  of  past  or  future  care ; 
Sufficeth  it  alone,  that  ye 

The  bright  alluring  Present  share. 


Tk  transient  all  —  jei  who  shall  break 
The  fair  frail  mirror  of  your  mirth? 


94  MY    CHILDREN. 


Ye  are  but  dreamers ;   who  shall  wake 

Ye  to  realities  of  earth? 
Dream  on !   dream  on !  it  cannot  last ; 

With  boyhood  will  depart  that  dream; 
And  soon,  to  retrospect,  the  Past 

But  shadows  of  the  dead  shall  seem. 

Who  would  forget,  that  when  a  child, 

Life  put  on  lovely  robes  for  him? 
That  then  imagination,  wild, 

Flashed  in  the  eyes  that  now  are  dim? 
Who  can  forget  when  Hope  danced  high, 

And  Syren  Love  of  witchery  sung? 
Some  may  forget,  but  ne'er  shall  I, 

The  white-winged  hours  when  joy  was  young. 

Yes,  though  upon  my  tempered  brow 

Romance  hath  ceased  to  bind  her  flowers, 
'Tis  pleasant  as  I  wander  now, 

To  linger  o'er  my  childish  hours. 
Green  spot  of  life !  how  sweet  to  gaze 

On  bliss  so  simple,  yet  sincere ; 
To  turn  from  the  wild  waste  of  days 

And  feast  my  aching  vision  here. 


in     (  BELDREN.  95 


A\e.   unite,   my   boys!    'twere  better  so, 

Than  darkly  read  the  eoming  ill ; 
Thai  chequered  page  the  gray-haired  know, 

But  heedlessness  \s  childhood's  still. 
Blest  ignoranee  !     Compassion's  balm, 

To  drug  the  life-cup  of  our  tears ; 
Existence,   thou  wouldst  wear  a  charm 

Did  prescience  come  not  with  thy  years. 

Laugh  on,  my  children,  while  ye  may;  — 

Yours  now  is  not  the  actor's  part; 
Your  laugh  perhaps  in  future  day, 

May  vainly  hide  an  aching  heart. 
Yet  lingers  in  your  perfect  bliss, 

Ingenuous  feeling,  brightly  new ; 
And  childhood's  love  and  childhood's  kiss 

Are  ever  holv,  ever  true. 


96  GIBARD  COLLEGE. 


GIRARD  COLLEGE,  PHILADELPHIA, 


His  current  name,  that  graced,  for  years,  a  Bank, 
Now  that  Death's  veto  cuts  him  off  from  pelf — 
Shines  on  a  College.     Well,  the  idol  Self 

Has  yet  oblation.     For  the  boon  we  thank 

Not  his  compassion;  it,  like  him,  was  lank. — 
But,  oh !  just  Truth,  how  surely  what  men  sow, 
And  that  alone  —  for  good  or  bad  will  grow  ! 

This  offering,  to  his  god,  of  odor  rank, 

This  eager  pyramid  of  modern  days, 

This  glorious  marble  mass,  to  Heaven  up-piled. 
At  cost  of  millions,  for  the  Orphan  Child, 

Presents  of  Unbelief  no  doubtful  phase. 

So,  by  the  beauty  that  commands  our  praise, 
As  by  a  hideous  wonder,  is  the  ground  defiled. 


a    -  LPPHIC    fOB    iiia\km,i\  in.;.  97 


A  SAPPHIC   FOR   THANKSGIVING. 


Whin  the  old  Fathers  of  New  England  sought  to 
Honor  the   Heaven?  with   substance   and  with  first 

fruit>. 
They,  with  their  blessings  —  all  uncounted  —  sum- 
med up 

Their  unuYservings. 

The}    praised  Jehovah  for  the  wheat  sheaves 
thered : 

Fur  eon  and   cattle,  and  the  thrifty  orchards  ; 

of  basket,  storehouse,  homestead,  hamlet ; 
Of  land  and  water. 


98  A    SAPPHIC    FOR    THANKSGIVING. 

They   praised   Jehovah   for   the    Depth   of 

Riches 
Opened  and  lavished  to  a  world  of  penury; 
Mines  —  whose  red  ore,  unpriced,  unbought,  is 

poured  from 

Veins  unexhausted. 

They  made  confession  of  their  open  errors ; 
Honestly  told  God  of  their  secret  follies; 
Afresh   their   service   as   true   vassals   pledged 
Him; 

And  then  were  merry. 

Strong  was  their  purpose;  Nature  made  them 

nobles ; 
Religion  made  them  kings,  to  reign  forever ! 
Hymns  of  Thanksgiving  were  their  happy  faces, 
Beaming  in  music. 

Gone  are  the  Pilgrims ;  —  silent  years  behold  us 
Onward  in  science ;  backward  in  true  greatness ; 
Realms  we  can  master  —  not  our  sins ;  —  rule 
lightning, 

Not  tyrant  passion. 


V    SAPPHIC    I'OI!    THANKSGIVING. 


99 


Lingers  affection  far  their  hallowed  customs, 
Throb    vet    these    pulses  —  may    the    fact    redeem 

B»l  — 
Glows  the  warm  influence  in  New  England's  bosom, 

Beating  to  Goodness. 

Beating  all  proudly,  as  upon  her  Fathers' 

:i  glorious  graves  and  eloquent  old  tombstones, 
She  reverently  throws  garlands,  born  to  blossom 

Summer  and  Winter. 

Darkly  we  wander  where  we've  sadly  fallen 
From  the  grand  heights  of  their  majestic  beauty, — 
Marred  by  our  folly.  —  Yet  we  praise  Jehovah, 

The  Children's  Ruler. 

We  praise  Jehovah!  —  though  within  our  censer 
Burns  other  incense  than  a  glad  oblation; 
With  the  deep  thunders  of  New  England's  anthem 

Wail  notes  of  sorrow. 


Troubled  our  praises,  and  our  hymns  discordant; 
Art  Thou.  O   God,  on   Gerizim  or  Ebal  ? 
The   malediction    hear  we  —  hear  the  blessing, 

Strangely  confounded. 


100  A    SAPPHIC    FOR    THANKSGIVING. 

We  weep  before  Thee  that  a  veil  flung  over 
Our  comely  Zion,  hides  Thee  from  thy  Daughter; 
Shuts  out  the  sunlight;  makes  her  spirit  torpid, 
And  her  heart  icy. 

We  sigh  before  Thee  that  debasing  Mammon 
Has  built  his  temples  our  wide  nation  over; 
In  which  the  worldling,  moralist,  and  Christian 
Equally  worship. 

We  wail  before  Thee  that  the  sparkling  wine-cup 
Crowns  entertainments ;   and  the  poor  man's 

beverage 
That  devil,  Rum  is,  in  despite  of  suasion, 
Legal  or  moral. 

We  mourn  in  sackcloth  that  through  our  Republic 
The  Sabbath-breaker's  evil  spirit  rages, 
Infests  the  market,  factory,  steamboat,  yea  and 

Smokes  o'er  the  railroad. 

We  weep  in  ashes  that  pure  love  of  country 
Yields  to  the  mighty  tide  of  base  corruption  ; 
Wrestlers  for  lucre,  pleasure,  and  ambition, 

Are  victors  !  —  rulers  ! 


A    SAPPHIC    FOR    Til  kJ  <■•  1<H 

From  the   proud  summit   of  their  lofty   virtue 
Look  down  the  patriots  of  the  olden   time, 

IT  purchased  and  obsequious  statesmen 
Most  deeply  fallen. 

And.  shame  to  Freemen  !    Freedom's  sunny  jewel 

Lies  in  the  shadow  of  a  foul  eclipse ; 

This  hour  their  injuries  clamor  to  high    Heaven 

Three   Million   Voices ! 

We  blush  in  scarlet  that  to  comfort  slavery, 
Aid  and  encourage  purposes  of  Avarice, 
.V  stolen  province  swells  our  vast  possessions, — 

Our  dreadful  audit! 

And  to  fill  quickly  the  infernal  measure 
Of  suicidal  guilt  and  matchless  folly. 
Our  youth  and   manhood,  burning  with  mad  valor, 

Haste  to  the  battle;  — 

Spurn  the  brave  North  —  her  strong  hills  and 

green  vallies, 
To  lay  their  bodies  in  the  chapperalls, 
( )r  bleach  on  deserts ;  hecatombs  uncounted 

To  empty  Conquest 


102  A    SAPPHIC    FOR    THANKSGIVING. 

Murder  and  Rapine  —  harpies  —  are  seen  perching 
On  the  broad  banner  that  once  led  to  Glory; 
"  Glory !  "  what  art  thou  ?  —  infamy  !     Thou 
"Eagle?"  — 

A  carrion  vulture ! 

Oh,  can  we  triumph  that  audacious  robbers 
Skulk,  like  assassins,  through  the  Aztec  city  ?  — 
Sit  in  high  places  where  swayed  Indian  princes 
Barbaric  sceptre?  — 

Warriors,  inflamed  by  horrid  lust  and  bloodshed, 
Accursed  polluters!   violate  sweet  virgins, 
Shoot  down  the  women  who  the  hurt  are  soothing  — 
Angels  of  Mercy ! 

Oh,  can  we  triumph  that  the  peaceful  dwellings 
Of  men,  defenceless,  have  been  wrapt  in  burnings, 
White  locks  gore-spattered,  and  the  cherub  infant, 
Shrieking  and  writhing, 

Is  tost  on  bayonets  of  infuriate  soldiers,  — 

Men  hot  with  hell  and  drunk  with  Mexic  crimson? — 

Can  we  exult  in  the  loud  lamentations 

Our  Rachels  utter  ? 


A   BAPPHK3    koi:    i  n  i  \  ESG  I  ving.  108 

Can  we  exult  o'er  gallant  gay  eommanders 
Smitten  Do  earth?  or  in  the  wholesale  butchery 

Of  rank  and   tile.  Which  steel  and  ball  by  thousands 

Hurried    to  Judgment? 

And  the  survivors!  —  how  the  soul  is  blasted 
By  the  tierce  fever  of  the  camp  and  tettl-field! 
AVell  may  they  envy  comrades  who  are  food  now 
For  the  dull  earth-worms  ! 

Mourn  we  the  hundreds,  crippled,  crushed,  and 

broken. 
Limping  in  rags  home  to  their  loved  New  England  ; 
Cursing  the  phantom  that  allured  them  and  the 
Bounty  that  bought  them. 

Stay,  burdened  spirit  !  —  wonder  that  the  hail  storm 
Merited  richly,  is  not  yet  commissioned;  — 
Wonder,  that   rains  not  on  thy  guilty  country 
Gomorrah's  portion. 

Take  the  Thanksgiving,  God !  that  hope  is  left  us 
In  the  great  legacy  we  still  inherit 
Of  glorious  Freedom,  and  the  blessed  Gospel's 
Solemn  Probation. 


104  A    SAPPHIC    FOR   THANKSGIVING. 

Now,  as  we  gather  round  our  loaded  tables, 
May  the  pure  rain-drops  of  repentance  welling, 
Mingle  with  gladness ;  and  the  low  confession 

With  the  thank-offering ! 

Tears,  that  from  Virtue  grievously  we  've  wandered ; 
Humble  confessions  for  ourselves  and  nation ; 
Covenant  renewed  that  we  will  henceforth  ever 
Cleave  to  Jehovah. 

So,  in  His  merits,  whose  dear  footprints,  bleeding, 
Tracked  up  Salvation's  way  on  Calvary, 
We,  finding  peace,  shall  keep  a  pure  Thanksgiving 
Here  and  in  Heaven. 

Novembek,  1847. 


OH.  81  105 


OH,    STARS 


Oh,  Stars  !   upon  the  brow  of  night 
Ye  look  from  yonder  fields  of  blue, 

Where  ye,  'mid  melody  of  light, 

Bright  wheeling  worlds  !   your  way  panne. 

Ye  never  tire,  —  pure  diadems, 

The  marshalled  sentinels  on  high  — 

Yt  dune,  and  ever  shine,  the  gems 
That  deck  the  curtain  of  the  sky. 

Min-tnl-  are  ye  —  your  early  song 
Woke  all  the  sons  of  God  to  mirth, 

When  tight  and  music  flowed  along 
In  union  o'er  the  newborn  earth. 


106 


OH,    STARS. 


Ye  Stars  !   if  aught  't  is  yours  to  know 
Beyond  your  own  superior  bourne, 

With  pity  have  ye  not  below 

Glanced  on  these  vales  where  mortals  mourn? 

While  I  behold  your  nightly  march, 
Your  anthems  steal  upon  my  ears  — 

As  sprinkled  o'er  yon  glittering  arch, 
Ye  wake  the  music  of  the  spheres. 


'Tis  fancy!  —  yet  the  soothing  strains 
Come  o'er  my  soul  with  influence,  blest 

They  tell  of  brighter,  fairer  plains, 

Where  troubles  cease  and  pilgrims  rest. 


BTMS     Off     \\  1.I.COME.  107 


HYMN    OF    WELCOME, 

ON     THE     RETURN     OP     A     PA8TOR     FROM     EUROPE     AND     ASIA, 


u  The  Soul,  immortal  as  its  Sire," 
I-  ne'er  to  time  or  place  confined; 
To  spread  the  wings  of  keen  desire, 
And  fly  abroad,  belongs  to  Mind, 

'T  were  shame  to  stray  from  flower  to  flower 
Nor,  like  the  bee,  with  purpose  roam; 

He's  wise,  who  lades  the  wand'ring  hour, 
And  sends  it,  rich  with  honey,  home. 

His  path,  whose  head  and  heart   are  right, 
I-   Btrown  with  Truth,  like  gems,  impearled ; 

To  him  the  sky's  a  page  of  light  — 
A  book,  unsealed,  the  wondrous  world. 


108 


HYMN    OF    WELCOME. 


Thanks !   Gracious  God !  thy  servant  thus 
Has  reaped  in  Syria,  Rome,  and  Greece ; 

And  now,  with  golden  sheaves  for  us, 
And  songs  to  Thee,  returns  in  peace. 

Thanks  !  that  his  house,  in  weary  lands 
And  thirsty  deserts,  found  the  Rock, 

Whose  streams,  in  Asia,  filled  their  hands  ; 
Whose  waters  here,  refreshed  the  flock. 


Accept  the  vow !  accept  the  praise  ! 

And  oh!  let  angels  still  descend 
Where  he  and  we  memorials  raise 

To  Christ,  the  grateful  Traveller's  Friend. 


HYMN.  10!) 


HYMN 


8CNO    AT    THE    CELEBRATION     OP    THE    LELAND     FAMILY',     AT    SHERBURNE. 


0  God  of  Bethel  !  from  Thy  hand^ 
Thy  gift,  the  social  compact  came, 

To  heal  and  clasp  in  pleasant  bands 
The  scattered  wrecks  of  Adam's  shame. 

Its  blessings  of  superior  birth 

Enrich  no  selfish,  lonely  man  ;  — 

Let  children's  children  take  the  earth  ! " 
The  covenant  thus  with  Abr'am  ran. 

The  chain  that  bifida  ami  Leaves  it  free 

Is  by  the  willing  heart  confessed  : 
We  kiss  the  golden  links,  for  we 
In  servitude  so  sweet  are  blessed. 
10 


110  HYMN. 


Thanks !  that  Thy  favor,  as  the  dew, 

Lies  all  night  on  the  good  man's  ground; 

And  mercies,  like  the  morn,  renew 
Their  beauty  where  the  just  is  found. 

Thanks  !  that  the  seed  from  Albion's  stock 
Struck  widely  here  a  vigorous  root, — 

Which,  pushing  through  the  sand  and  rock, 
Has  grown  and  yielded  precious  fruit. 

Thanks  !   that  around  this  goodly  vine 
The  graceful  branches,  as  they  fall, 

Like  Jacob's  clusters,  intertwine  — 
Like  Joseph's,  overleap  the  wall. 

Let  benedictions  yet  abound ! 

These  multiply  and  fully  bless, 
By  families  with  plenty  crowned  — 

By  kindreds  who  shall  Thee  confess ! 


ICAR1     l  .    v\\    1.1  v\u\  Ill 


RS.    MARY    E.    VAN    LENNEP,1 


ON     REAMNG    HER    MEMOIR    BT     HER    MOTHER. 


I  knew  her  not;  —  a  fountain  here 
Reflects  her  beauty  to  my  sight; 

It-  fair  proportions  mirrored  clear, 
And  beaming  with  effulgent  light. 

I    Bee  a   -oul  mature  and  true; 

Of  taste  refined,  and  noble  pea 
And  earnest  love,  that  simply  knew 

A  short   iweet  way  to  kindred  hearts. 


♦  Only  daughter  of  Rev.  JoML   Hawk*.   D.D.,  of  Hartford, 

nd  wife  of  !:•'..   Hknky  J.  Van    I.knnki'.  IfiMkmary  to 

the  Armenians;  among  whom  she  died  at  P«  1844, 


112  MRS.    MART    E.    VAN    LENNEP. 

The  lineaments  are  all  divine  ;  —  # 

The  glorious  form  and  starry  eyes 

Are  such  as  meet  and  softly  shine 
In  holy  ones  that  walk  the  skies. 

She  loved  mankind  of  every  creed; 
"Her  neighbor"  dwelt  in  every  zone;  — 
And  life  she  loved,  might  she  indeed 
Bless  him  with  mercies  like  her  own ! 

"  They  serve  who  wait,"  —  and  thus  did  she. 
Whose  work,  where  flames  the  Eastern  sun, 
Was  planned,  commenced  and  wrought  wliile  we 
Beheld  it  only  as  begun. 

From  dawn  to  twilight's  fading  ray 

Some  linger  on  the  Master's  ground, — ■ 

Threescore  and  ten  their  weary  day, — 
And  such,  at  last,  are  "faithful"  found;  — 

Oh  !  not  by  hours,  or  full  or  few, 

Our  gracious  Lord  the  toil  computes, — 

Some,  ere  exhales  the  morning  dew, 
At  morn  retire  with  sheaves  and  fruits. 


in:     BUKMAN'8  QUEgTIOtf.  LIS 

Ami  she.  whose  worth  i-  here  tmpeuied, 

Where  skill  maternal  sets  the  gem  — 
By  labor  brief  has  blest  the  world, 
And  early  won  her  diadem. 


THE    BURMAN'S    QUESTION 


DO    THE    DISCIPLES    IN    AMERICA     DRINK     ARDENT     81MRITS 


.Airy,  crossing  the  blue  wave,  have  told 
To  Burmah  of  the  God  who  first 

Spoke  out  this  starry  world  of  old, — 
To  whom  the  stars  and  worlds  are  dust. 

His  voice  we  hear,  and  we  obey ! 

Nor  fear  contempt,  or  shame,  or  loss ; 
Once  proudly  vile,  we  now  will  lay 

Our  folly's  pride  beneath  the   cross. 


We  '11  bear  reproaches  for  His  sake 
3r 
10 


Who  for  the  Burmese  died,  and  we 


114  THE    BURMAN'S    QUESTION. 

Will  gladly  persecution  take 

For  Him  whose  blood  hath  stained  the  tree. 

Yet,  how  may  we  the  censure  meet, 
That  spots  Religion's  lovely  robe, 

And  shows  an  idol  on  the  seat 

Of  Him  who  formed  and  guides  the  globe? 

For  far  beyond  the  Indian  sea, 

Where  heaven  lets  down  unwonted  light, 

His  purchased  followers  bend  the  knee 
To  Alcohol,  the  fiend  of  night. 

Our  hearts  for  God!  —  yet  while  we  doubt, 

And  fear,  like  those,  to  yield  Him  up, 
Around  us  rings  the  scornful  shout, 
"  Do  your  disciples  kiss  the  cup  ?  " 

Do  western  Christians  fondly  reach 
The  bottle  to  a  neighbor's  lip? 

A  deed  that  Boodh  may  never  teach! 
A  cup  Gaudama  durst  not  sip ! 

Men  of  the  clime  where  Truth  has  trod, 
Earth's  million  falsehoods  to  condemn, 

Tell  us,  seek  they  another  God? 
Or  is  not  Jesus,  God  for  them  ? 


THK     CASTAWAY. 


115 


THE    CASTAWAY 


"  The  sentiment  has  very  generally  gained  credence  that  the 
reformation  of  drunkards  is  a  hopele<-  undertaking.  Facts  teach 
us  to  renew  our  efforts  to  pluck  them  from  the  fire,  though  half 
consumed.  They  may  yet  be  recovered  and  become  useful 
members  of  society."      * 

Tiior'sT  snatched  the  youth  from  Ruin's  grave, 

And  dashed  to  earth  his  chain  ; 
And  bade  him  sit,  no  more  a  slave, 

A  mav  with  men  again. 


Thou'sf  rescued  from  the  Sorcerer,  when 
Hope  failed  to  chase  the  spell ; 

Thou'st  broken  caste,  that  sundered  men 
Wide  as  the  doors  of  hell. 


116 


THE    CASTAWAY. 


To  crush  the  cup,  concealed  in  flowers, 

Its  garlands  to  untwine, 
Is  godlike  toil  —  the  fruit  is  ours, 

The  triumph,  Temperance!   thine. 

Nor  mean  that  victory  —  with  its  song 

Is  stirred  the  warriors'  graves: 
And  cries  ring  thence,  in  trumpet -tongue, 
"  Our  sons  no  more  are  slaves ! " 

Magician  of  unequalled  power ! 

Who  but  thyself  could  dare 
To  seek  the  lion  in  his  hour, 

And  beard  him  in  his  lair  ? 

'T  is  well  —  't  is  more  —  't  is  nobly  done  ; 

Thy  recompense,  by  far 
I'd  choose,  than  jewelled  sceptre  won 

By  emperor  or  czar. 


Yet,  angel!  or  whate'er  thou  art, 
Thy  gaze  turn  thou  on  him, 

For  whom  this  world  hath  little  part, 
Whose  hope  beyond  is  dim. 


THE    CASTAWAY.  1  1 


For  fell  remorse  is  his,  and  fast 

The  serpent   hath  him  bound  : 
With  gripe  of  death  its  folds  are  cast 
His  inmost  soul  around. 

lie  bathed  his  boyhood  in  the  cup, 
Jn  poison  quenched  his  prime; 

Its  tires  have  drunk  existence  up, 
And  now  he   "  bides  his  time." 

There  are  dear  ones  to  share  his  woe. 

He  will  not  sink  alone ; 
His  spirit's  lease  is  linked  unto 

Jehovah's  moveless  throne. 

And  him  —  eternity's  proud  heir  — 
Should-t  thou,  for  aye,  pass  by, 

And  leave  in  all  his  blank  despair 
A  castaway  to  die  ? 

Oh,  strive  !   till  longer  that  dark  way 

He  will  not,  cannot  tread; 
But  walks  forth  into  cheerful  day, 

The  Living  from  the  dead. 


118 


THE    VOICE    OF    THE    SEA. 


THE  VOICE   OF   THE   SEA 


"  The  Missionaries  write  of  a  revival  on  board  the  ship,  on  her 
passage  to  India." 

The  waves  of  passion  may  be  stayed  where  lordly 
billows  toss, 

The  journeyers  of  the  deep  may  be  the  followers 
of  the  cross; 

'Mid  storms  that  strain  his  gallant  ship,  the  mari- 
ner in  faith 

May  hear  what  He  who  humbled  once  the  surging 
waters  saith. 


The  Voice  at    Sea!  —  the  Voice  that  wakes  the 

sailor  from  his  dream, 
Is  that  which  speaks  in  rushing   floods  and  in  the 

gentle  stream, 


mi     voiok    OF  THE   si  L  119 

And    in   the    forest's    harmony,    when    all    its    trees 

rejoice  ; 
In  eottfcgto,  in  palaces, —  it  is  the  Spirit's  Voice. 

Dost  see  yon  vessel  like  a  bird  on  ocean's  wilder- 
ness ? 

Oh,  there  go  some  whose  lofty  looks  are  changed 
to  lowlin 

Upon  them  Love  has  shed  its  dews ;  from  head  to 
garment's  hem 

They're  bathed  —  old  things  are  past,  —  the  Dove 
has  overshadowed  them. 

And  iron  men,  who  never  quailed  upon  the  yield- 
ing mast, 

Have  feared  their  sin,  and  sought  the  few  whose 
lot  with  heaven  is  cast. 

And  lips  that  left  us  with  a  curse  —  thou  hear'st 
th<*m  as  they  pass  — 

On  Hooglj  meekly  learn  to  pray,  and  hail  witli 
hymn,   Madnis  ! 

Thou  seest  the  Spanner  of  the  Deeps,  who  scoops 

the  waves  their  bed, 
Is  where   the  lowly  sailor  weeps,  and    marks  each 

tear  that 's  shed  ; 


120 


THE    VOICE    OP    THE    SEA. 


And,  unconfined   to  minster  walls  and    carved  and 

gilded  fane, 
Bends  o'er  the  hammock  where  he  calls  and  soothes 

the  sinner's  pain. 

Sweet  to  the  troubled  mariner,  aloft  on    quivering 

shrouds, 
It   is    to   look    in    confidence    beyond    the    warring 

clouds, 
And    know,  when    by  deceitful  winds,    at    starless 

midnight  driven, 
There  shineth  down  upon  his  path  the  guiding  ray 

of  Heaven. 


And  sweet  to  us  that  interchanged  the  lingering, 
last  farewell, 

Sustained  by  Him  who  chideth  not  when  tides  of 
sorrow  swell  — 

To  know  that  He  went  down  with  them  that  busi- 
ness do  at  sea, 

And  in  their  noble  vessel  showed  the  power  of  Deity. 

And   praise   to    Him  whose   presence  cheered   that 

missionary  ship, 
And    wrought,   with    sure   and   silent   power,    such 

change  of  soul  and  lip! 


THE    VOICE    OF    THE    HI  121 

)   Thee!    the   barks    that   speed    thy 
MM  I  lllll lilt ll  host, 
Thou  qwerahadoweal    in   their   need,    Wing  of   the 
Holy  Ghost! 

And  still'st  the  elemental  strife,  subduing  every  sin  ; 

By  Thee  the  sea  restores  to  life  the  dead  that  were 
therein : 

In  hearts  of  those  that  shun  thy  truth,  the  way- 
ward and  the  strong, 

Thou  pot's!  its  shining,  searching  edge,  and  in  their 
mouth  a  song. 

Then,  parent!   whose    nnhappy  child   has   left   the 

peace  of  home, 
And   left   its   dear  and  virtuous    love,  in   distant 

ways  to  roam, — 
Be  comforted,  and    for   him   plead,  though    he  has 

thoughtless  trod, 
And  long  been  lost,  tin's  hour  he  may  be  found  at 

last  of  God. 

In  watches  of  the   night,  when    hushed   are  winds 

and  sleeps  the  wave, 
His    thought   may  homeward    turn    to  rest  upon  a 

father's  grave ; 
11 


122  THE    VOICE    OF    THE    SEA. 

Or   on   the   countenance  of  her   that   led   his    step 

above 
In   youth,  and    on    remembered  words   dropt   by  a 

mother's  love. 

In  pauses  of  the  northern  storm  a  Voice  may  come 

with  power, 
And  meet   him   in   the   tropic  breeze,  at  evening's 

quiet  hour; 
O,  who  can  shun  His  presence  who  may  from  the 

Spirit  nee? 
For   omnipresent,    Lord!   thou   art,  and   in   Thy 

hands  are  we. 


TO    J 


The  fool,  who  counts  by  millions  yellow  wealth, 
Disbursing  it  at  Pity's  call  by  stealth 
So  secret,  that  to  Heaven  't  is  never  known,  — 
And,  dying,  vests  in  mortar,  brick,  and  stone 
The  swollen  mass  for  Hospitals,  may  place 
Assume  with  benefactors  of  his  race. 

♦  Mr.  A.  U  :i  resident  of  Boston,  a  man  in  humble  life,  who  de- 
votes much  of  his  time  to  the  relief  of  the  distresses  of  those  of 
his  fellow  creatures  suffering  from  poverty  or  the  effects  of  vice. 
He  has  been  wonderfully  successful  in  reclaiming  the  fallen. 
During  the  past  year,  in  our  criminal  courts,  he  has  hailed  137 
prisoners,  most  of  whom  were  drunkards  and  minors.  During 
the  past  six  yean,  Mr.  A.  lias  become  bail  for  636  persons,  tin- 
whole  amount  of  his  bonds  being  $45,750,  and  only  in  a  single 
instance  has  he  been  compelled  to  pay  his  bonds,  and  then  onlv 
for  $100.  About  three  quarters  of  the  prisoners  that  have  expe- 
rienced Mr.  A.'s  merciful  interposition,  have  become  permanently 
reformed. 


124  TO    J A . 

The  rich  man,  who  to  Penury's  gaunt  heir 
Doles  from  his  purse  a  homeopathic  part, 
Is  straightway  lauded,  as  if  Soul  and  Heart 
Could  possibly  in  this  have  any  share  ; 
As  if  proud  Rank  could  hear  the  widow's  prayer ; 
Inflated  Splendor  from  its  stilts  descend 
To  be  unto  the  fatherless  a  friend ; 
Or  Meanness  willingly  could  pittance  spare. — 
But  Thou,  whose  advent  no  paid  poet  told, 
Whose  humble  name  in  life's  plain  pathway  lies, 
Though  reckoned  with  the  Peerage  of  the  Skies  — 
Whose  heart  of  hearts  was  never  bought  or  sold  — 
To  garner  Coin  and  Fame  art  truly  wise  ! 
For  where  the  canker  ne'er  incrusts  the  gold, 
Nor  calumny  consumes,  thy  treasure  's  sure  — 
Laid  up  and  hidden  with  God's  chosen  Poor. 

1848. 


E     A F .  185 


L  — c    A 


Shi  has   gone    from   our   sight   to   the    regions  of 
UiM  : 

—  Her   passage    was    brief  through    the    valley  of 

tears  — 
For  a  world  that  was  perfect  relinquishing  this  ; 
These  moments  of  time  for  eternity's  years. 

Sh«-  was  here  as  a  pilgrim ;  yet  not  as  a  mark 
For  the  arrows  of  trouble  that  constantly  flew  ; 
The  path  of  existence,  so  tangled  and  dark, 
Was  pleasant  to  her,  for  the  Leader  was  true. 

Oh,  no!   the  sal  record  of  tho  ;  it   creep 

From  the  cradle  all  down  to  the  sheltering  tomb, 
11* 


126  L E    A F. 

Belongs  not  to  her  who  is  folded  in  sleep  — 
A  bud  that  was  opening  in  beauty  and  bloom. 

For  pure  and  serene  were  the  tints  of  her  sky ; 
Every  cloud,  intercepting,  fled  swiftly  and  far; 
Or  if  ever  a  shadow  came  wandering  by, 
To  her  it  seemed  only  a  radiant  star. 

She  lived  in  the  smiles  we  were  prompt  to  bestow,  — 
And  we  deemed  on  that  circle  a  charm  had  been 
Yet  entered  its  precincts  the  confident  Foe,  [laid ; 
To  retreat  at  the  faith  of  a  suffering  maid. 

We  gathered,  in  grief,  about  her  who  had  shed 
O'er  our  studies  and  pastime  the  light  of  her  heart ; 
And  we  saw  in  the  beam  on  the  face  of  the  dead 
A  token  of  kindness  to  soften  the  smart. 

It  sharpened  our  pangs,  that  the  festival  hour* 
Was  the  one  to  be  dimmed  by  her  funeral  rite ; 
And  that  she,  of  our  garden  of  gladness  the  flower, 
We   must   leave  in  her  morning   to  dampness   and 
night, 

*  The  burial  was  on  the  same  same  day  that  her  beloved  com- 
panions in  the  Seminary  assembled  for  the  last  time  in  that  term. 


WIM'I   U. 


137 


Bol  slif  lives  in  the  hearts  that  are  weeping  behind; 

And   tboogh  the  frail  mansion   is  laid   in   the   B60\ 
The  soul  that  informed  it,  pure,  sinless,  refined, 
[fl   yinging  and  shining  and  gazing  on   God. 


WIXTER 


Worm  !   there  are  among  the  race  of  men, 

s  to  thought,  who  slander  thee; 
Thy  frowns  appall,  thy  smiles  escape  their  ken  ;  — 
Ytt  beautiful  the  garb  thou  wear'st  to  me. 

I  lore  thy  rocking  storms  to  hear; 

Thy  blasts,  that  bid  the  aged  mountains  nod, 
Thy  winds  are  musk  to  my  ear, — 

To  me  their  murmuring  is  the  voice  of  God. 

Parent  of  kindly  charities ! 

-  thine  to  thaw  ma  I — the  frigid  soul, 


128  WINTER. 


Sterner  than  frost,  is  melted,  nor  denies 

Its  aid  to  bid  the  troubled  heart  "  be  whole  ! " 

Winter !  thou  'rt  not  austere  ; 

Though  frozen  be  thy  aspect,  bliss  is  thine 
Unknown  to  fairer  May;  for  on  thy  shrine 

Is  often  seen  the  grateful  orphan's  tear. 

Parent  of  treasures,  thou ! 

Should  I  not  love  thee  ?     0,  can  aught  compare 
With  thy  dear  fireside   joys  ?  —  the  tranquil  brow, 

The  wife's  warm  smile  and  children's  kiss  are  there. 


LOOKING    TO    JESUS.  129 


LOOKING  TO  THE  CROSS  —  LOOKING  TO  JESUS. 


"Just  before  he  died,  the  Bishop  exclaimed,  '  0,  what  a  com- 
fort it  is  in  looking  to  Christ !     I  scarcely  like  to  use  that  expres- 
sion, common  as  it  is,  of  looking  to  the  Cross;   it  is  a  figurative 
term  ;  whereas  I  want  something  substantial.'  " — The  late  Bishop 
>hury. 

The  dying  papist  clasps  the  cross;  — 
His  lips  the  sign  of  Mercy  kiss ;  — 

A  brighter  world  repairs  the  loss 
He  suffers  in  his  flight  from  this. 


Traotarians  on  the  bauble  gaze 

That  bribes  the  neophyte  to  Rome ; 

Poor  flies !   allured  by  "  candle  "  blaze, 

They  sinare  their  winjrs  and  meet  their  doom. 


130 


LOOKING   TO    JESUS. 


Decrepit  Rome,  with  crucifix, 

May  grope  her  way  to  dubious  light; 
And  Oxford  learn  the  juggling  tricks 

That  change  the  gospel's  noon  to  night: 

Yet,  when  I  dip  in  Jordan's  flood, 

And  sentient  mind  and  flesh  give  way, 

I  ask  no  gilt  or  ivory  god 

To  aid  my  hope  and  be  my  stay. 

O!  more  than  blossoms,  leaves,  and  root 
Of  Calvary's  plant  my  bruises  need ; 

The  tree  can  never  heal  —  its  fruit 
Is  oil  and  balm  and  life  indeed. 

He  who  upon  its  branches  hung 

Must  be  my  joy  and  boast  and  pride; 

In  life  and  death,  my  soul  and  tongue 
Will  only  mention  Him  who  died. 


While  Popes  with  lifted  banners  cry: 
"Look  to  the  Cross,  for  you  unfurled  — 
Through  tears  of  grief  and  joy  will  I 
Look  to  the  Saviour  of  a  world. 


<»ki»i\a Hon    uniN.  181 

For  on  the  Rock  my  fathers  chose, 
On  which,  secure,  the  children  stand, 

I  plant  my  foot ;  —  dash  here,  ye  foes, 
And  break  and  scatter  round  the  land! 


ORDINATION    HYMN 


His  ministers,  as  fiery  flames, 

Are  darting  all  abroad; 
The  Lord  has  come!  —  ye  lesser  names 

Sink  down  before  our  God. 

Hark !  to  the  world's  millenial  hymn ; 
How  sweet  the  chorals  run ! 
"  As  ever  by  the  Cherubim, 
By  man  Thy  will  is  done." 

O  Father,  thus  thy  word  redeem, 
Thus  give  thy  Son  his  right. 

Proclaimed  in   Eden's  morning  beam, — 
Confirmed  in  Calvary's  night. 


132 


ORDINATION    HYMN. 


And  bless  Thy  Church,  who,  watch  and  ward, 

In  calm  or  battle  keeps; 
Pleads  for  the  advent  of  her  Lord, 

And  o'er  its  tarrying  weeps. 

And  bless  her  warriors  who  replied 
When  Danger's  trumpet  blew ;  — 

Who  now  are  fighting  at  her  side, 
And  winning  glory  too. 

And  bless  Thy  servant  who  obeys, 

And  seeks  the  field  to-day;  — 
Thyself,  encompassing  his  ways, 

His  buckler  in  the  fray. 

By  him,  let  Age  be  strong  indeed, 

And  let  the  Children  win ; 
On  every  lance  an  error  bleed, 

Each  blow  a  death  to  Sin. 


By  him  let  broken  hearts  be  healed, 
The  slaves  of  vice  unbound ; 

New  vigor  every  blessing  yield, 
And  fragrance  every  wound. 


HYMN. 


188 


So,  to  the  Saviour's  earnest  cry, 

May  Heaven  and  Earth,  as  one, 
Take  alleluias,  and  reply: 
"  0  God,  Thy  will  M  done  ! " 


HYMN. 

■DM     AT   THE     INSTALLATION   OF    REV.   8.   HUTCHINGS,   LATE    MISSIONARY     TO 
INDIA  J    AT   BOOTH   BROOKFIELD,   MASS.,    SEPT.   15,   1847. 

He,  who,  recalled  from  Gentile  lands, 
Submits  to  Heaven's  mysterious  will, 

Has  yet  the  censer  in  his  hands, 
And  girds  him  for  the  altar  still. 

And  if,  where  Ceylon's  soft  winds  blow, 

Or  flames  the  sultry  Hindustan, 
He  may  not  to  the  captive  show 

How  Mercy  lifts  and  rescues  man, — 


He  may  upon  the  Pilgrims'  ground 
The  Pilgrims'  ancient  doctrine  preach 

And,  where  a  purer  creed  is  found, 
Its  faith  by  word  and  practice  teach;- 
L2 


134 


HYMN. 


And,  with  experience  of  his  youth, 
And  gentle  hope,  and  love,  and  zeal, 

So  recommend  transparent  truth, 

That  mind  shall  grow,  and  conscience  feel ; 

And  on  our  hearts  his  woe  impress 
Who  sits  where  hell  has  flag  unfurled, 

Till  they  will  leap  at  once  to  bless 
With  life  the  buried  idol-world. 


So  shall  the  gems  he  gathers  here, 

With  those  he  won  from  India's  strand  — 

In  Jesus'  crown  of  stars  appear, 

When  sink  the  ocean,  sky,  and  land. 


WHEN    MORNING    BREAKS.  135 


WHEN  MORNING  BREAKS  UPON  TIIE  NIGIIT, 


I. 

When  morning  breaks  upon  the  night 
That  wrapt  the  slave  of  sin, 

And,  guided  by  its  searching  light, 
The  rebel  sees  within 

How  Guilt  upon  the  inner  walls 

][<  images  portrays, 
To  which  the  heart  in  worship  falls,  — 

Which  every  lust  obeys  ;  — 

If  sad  conviction  of  his  loss 
Is  deepened  to  despair, 

Till,  yielding  at  the  holy  Cross, 

He  falls,  a  weeper  there,  — 


136 

WHEN   MORNING   BREAKS. 

He  dies  to  sin;  and  only  then 

Is  certified  of  rest; 

For, 

in  the  storms  that  trouble  men, 

He  sleeps  on  Jesus'  breast. 

How  sweet,  within  the  arms  of  Love, 

To  sigh  away  the  breath  — 

And 

taste,  in  presence  of  the  Dove, 

Eternal  Life  in  Death ! 

II. 

And 

yet  'tis  not  enough  to  die 

To  follies  he  has  done ; 

The 

waiting  seats  of  bliss  on  high 

Are  not  so  idly  won. 

Tis 

not  enough  that  Grace  may  lift 

The  sunken  from  his  woe ;  — 

The 

saint,  redeemed,  of  Grace  bereft, 

Will  find  his  place  below. 

He  yet  must  die  if  he  would  live; 

Die  daily,  hourly,  still ; 

Die 

to  the  blessings  Heaven  may  give ;  — 

In  sorrows  die  to  will. 

WHIM    MOUNINU    BKKAKS.  137 

Die  —  in  the  secret  peace  of  God  — 

To  buffeting*  malign ; 
To  meet  half  way  and  take  the  rod 

Is  more  than  to  resign. 

Die  to  his  selfishness  and  pride; 

In  life  and  failing  breath, 
To  all,  with  Christ,  be  crucified, 

And  triumph  in  the  death ! 


12* 


138  THE    CHOLERA. 


THE    CHOLERA. 

IN     PROSPECT      OP     IT8     SECOND     INVASION. 

With  what  a  calm  and  self-confiding  gait 
Cometh  this  Alaric,  the  Scourge!  —  when  first 
From  Indian  marshes  the  Destroyer  burst, 
He  girded  on  swift  wings  and  could  not  wait. 
The  helmed  and  sworded  Minister  of  Fate 
Smote  then  the  quaking  nations,  but  to  feel 
His  future  way,  and  prove  his  edge  of  steel, — 
And  some  score  thousands  could  its  sharpness  sate. 
Would  that  his  march,  so  silent,  were  less  slow, 
And  quickly  sped!  —  This  gradual  advance 
Tokens,  I  fear,  an  Arm  upon  whose  lance 
Shall  millions  bleed.     Yet  comes  the  dreadful  Foe, 
Who  his  own  prowess  hath  sure  cause  to  know, 
And  our  sad  impotence  sees  at  a  glance. 

1848. 


VERSES.  139 


VERSES 

WRTTTKN    AFTER    HEARING    THE    SPEECHES    IX    PAXEUL    HALL,    ON    A    LATE 
ANNIVERSARY     OCCASION. 

Ox  this  u  broad  platform  "  grimly  stand 
Fanaticism's  earnest  band. 

Earnest,  but  erring  —  Oh,  reflect, 
How  dire,  perverted  intellect ! 

I  see  their  eyes  of  maniac-glare, 

I  hear  their  words,  and  hell  is  there. 

Evil  of  dignities  they  speak, 

With  venom  strong,  with  logic  weak. 

Infuriate  age,  and  zealot  youth 
Amaze  the  rabble  with  untruth. 


140  TERSES. 


Blow  follows  blow !  shocks  follow  shocks ! 
The  Bible  sinks  !  the  Pulpit  rocks ! 

"  I  never  spoke  in  Faneuil  Hall 
Before,  yet  have  an  inward  call 

"  To  say,  if  Sinai's  Law  this  rod 
Appoints,  I  want  not  Sinai's  God. 

"  If  Calvary's  Sufferer  this  curse 
Takes  not  away,  no  Christ  for  us. 

"  If  Christians  who  love  Slavery  well 
At  last  win  Heaven,  give  me  Hell. 

"  Hear  me  !  who  've  tenanted  —  time  fails 
To  tell  how  many  —  loathsome  jails. 

"  Ye  wormword  words  !  invective  stings ! 
Concentrate  of  all  bitter  things ! 

"  Ye  Balaams !  cluster,  thick  as  leaves, 
To  curse  the  Brotherhood  of  thieves." 

Blow  follows  blow!  shocks  follow  shocks! 
The  Bible  sinks !  the  Pulpit  rocks ! 


yh:sks.  Ml 


Ami  Woman,  in  her  beauty,  pleads  ; 
And  rheumy  Age,  in  widow-weeds. 

One  sways,  like  felon  in  a  noose ; 
One  yells,  as  Bedlam  were  broke  loose. 

One  —  who  at  home  doth  wear  the  breeches 

Knits  hose,  and  drops  and  takes  up  stitches. 

One,  of  most  liberal  spirit,  deems 
Thfl  follower  of  the  Koran's  dreams, 

The  worshipper  of  pagan  Boodh, 
The  swearer  by  the  Holy  Hood, 

Believers  in  the  land  of  Nod, 
Or  seorners  of  the  Book  of  God, 

Who  think  of  Jesus  Christ  not  much  — 
(One  -aid:    "I  hope  that  here  are  such!") 

Alike,  may  on  this  platform  stand. 
All  welcome  to  the  motley  band. 

Alike,  may  jabber,  fume,  and  squeak  ; 
All  equal,  —  Mormon,  Jew,  and  Greek. 


142  VERSES. 


And  these  —  who  spew  out  slimy  wit, 
And  dip  their  weapons  in  the  pit; 

And  pour  forth  blasphemies,  too  rank, 
If  even  Christ  were  mountebank ; 

And  shame  the  devil  by  their  sin, 
And  hope,  at  last,  success  to  win; 

And  scorn  to  be  with  polish  cumbered  — 
Are  with  the  gentle  Clarkson  numbered! 

Yes!   these,  who  make  their  cause  pretence 
To  outrage  decency  and  sense; 

Who  Freedom  in  their  vileness  steep, 
And  make  the  friends  of  Freedom  weep; 

Whose  "  Resolutions  "  breathe  out  slaughter  ; 
Who  drink  up  sin  like  filthy  water; 

These,  at  his  pure  and  blessed  source, 
They  say,  sucked  in  with  Wilberforce  ! 

My  spirit  spurns  such  rude  allies ; 
I  march  not  with  a  flag  that  lies. 


/as.  143 


I   pity  and  I  shun   them  —  I, 

Who  for  the  Slave  would  toil  and  die. 

Who,   if  to  snap  his  hateful  link, 
Demanded  principle,  must  shrink. 

Who,  to  win  Freedom  —  gem  unpriced!  — 
Will  not  my  freedom  sell,  nor  Christ, 

Who.  for  my  fellows,  asks  success 

On  thoughts,  words,  deeds,  that  God  will  bless. 


STANZAS 


How  blessed  the  heir,  unvexed  by  trouble, 
Heav'n's  legacy  who  hath  not  spent ;  — 

Who,  counting  earth  a  passing  bubble, 
Above  its  pomp  secures  content. 

Thirsts  he  along  Life's  weary  journey? 

It-  wayside  fountains  fill  his  cup; 
Galled  out  with  bucklered  Care  to  tourney  ? 

He  meets  the  conflict,  visor  up. 


144 


STANZAS. 


With  passions,  in  Life's  earnest  races, 
Contends  he?  and  that  prize  the  soul? 

He  presses  on,  unheeding  traces 

Of  footsteps,  past,  and  wins  the  goal. 

Heart's-ease,  his  flower,  he  ever  weareth ; 

Subdued  and  simple  is  his  will; 
And  while  of  peace  the  proud  despaireth, 

His,  like  a  river,  floweth  still. 


Mortal  —  to-day  he  meeteth  sorrow, 

Such  as  the  thoughtless  never  scanned; 

Yet,  darkness  past,  what  light,  to-morrow, 
Breaks  on  him  from  the  Spirit-land! 


TO    i:i  V.    MI-SSK3.    DR.    B.    AND    G.  145 


TO  REV.  MESSRS.  DR.  B.  AND  G.  OF  ENGLAND. 


Ye  've  sought  our  western  shore 
In  friendliness,  —  on  holy  errand  bound. 

The  Christian  fellowship  ye  hither  bore, 
With  us  sojourning,  ye  have  freely  found. 

Ye  've  trodden  the  rich  soil 
Once  wet  with  patriot  blood  ;  where  the  green  graves 

Of  the  old  warriors  are ;  —  men,  not  of  spoil, 
Not  fearing  Death ;  —  who  feared  to  live  as  slaves. 

Ye  ?ve  seen  from  Plymouth  Rock 
High  influence  spread  —  wide  as  the  nation  spreads; 

And  still  in  person,  family,  and  flock, 
Quickening  the  ray  which  the  pure  gospel  sheds. 


146 


TO    REV.    MESSRS.    DR.    B.    AND    G. 


The  arena  of  the  last 
Great  conflict  ye  have  seen,  and  where  shall  dwell 

In  centuries  of  bliss,  the  Church,  when  past 
Her  warfare,  and  when  bound  the  prince  of  hell. 

New  England's  pleasant  dales, 
And  lands  beyond  the  Alleghany,  ye 

Have  visited.     Our  noble  prairies,  vales 
And  rivers  seen ;  —  fit  region  of  the  Free. 

"  Fit  region  ?  "  —  ye  have  seen 
The  black  man  cowering  to  the  dreadful  whip ; 

Where  Slavery  turns  the  fruitful  ground  to  lean, 
Ye  've  heard  the  curse  his  heart  sent  to  the  lip  ! 

Ye  've  marked  on  fields  of  fame 
The    heaving    dome ;  —  seen    Commerce    urge   his 

wheel 
Where  Ruin  dwelt ;  and  where  the  battle's  flame 
Swept  our  fair  towns,  bright  peace  her  Star  reveal. 


"  Bright  Peace  ?  "  —  and  how  we  send 
Our  volunteers,  ambassadors  of  woe, 

To  murder  men ;  babes,  mothers,  dwellings  blend 
In  one  infernal  doom  —  tells  Mexico  ! 


TO    1:1  v.    KB88B8.   DR.   B.   and    <;.  147 

Retain  with  tears  for  such 
Monstrous  perversion  of  the  gifts  of  God!  — 
With  deep  conviction  that  our  nation  much 
Mnv  fear  —  and  speedily  —  his  righteous  rod. 

Return  with  faith  and  hope 
That  our  fair  land  from  idols  will  return  ; 

And  on  her  altars,  through  the  Atlantic  slope 
And  sunny  south  and  west,  pure  sacrifice  shall  burn. 

Return  with  songs  !  —  delights 
tered  home  shall  win  once  more  your  smiles; 
We  will  rejoice  that  a  new  bond  unites 
Our  own  dear  country  with  the  British  Isles. 

And  as  again  ye  tread 
Your  sea-girt,  lovely  Albion,  and  review 

The  hours  that  pleasantly  among  us  fled  — 
Think  !  —  with  us  linger  thoughts  and  prayers  for  you. 


148  TO    THE    CHINESE    LAD  IT. 


TO    THE    CHINESE   LADY. 


I  marvel  at  thy  curious  mien, 
Thy  strange,  fantastic  air; 

And  yet,  with  us  there  may  be  seen 
Some  belles  as  proudly  fair! 

I  marvel  at  thy  accent,  too, 

That  tells  a  far-off  land; 
And  ponder,  as  I  scan  thy  shoe, 

How  thou  canst  walk  or  stand. 

Thine  oriental  parlor  is 

To  wondering  eyes  a  feast ; 
Though  not  a  real  pagoda,  'tis 
"  A  Chinese  hall,"  at  least 


TO    Till.    CHIN!  SE    LADY 


i  ;■• 


I  I  Boeodant  of  an  ancient  line, 
That  higher  looks  than  Eve, — 

Sprung  from  a  root  almost  divine. 
Or  quite,  as  some  believe, — 

I  think  with  interest  on  thee, 
Thy  foreign  speech  and  birth,  — 

Remembering  God  of  one  blood  made 
The  kindreds  of  the  earth. 

Yet  more  —  I  think  how  lately  we 
AVith  prejudice  had  hemmed 

Thy  nation,  and  how  easily 
Its  millions  had  condemned 

To  ignorance,  and  utter  gloom, 

And  superstition's  thrall ; 
And  deemed  thy  empire  but  a  tomb, 

As  soulless  as  its  wall, 


'Till  we  were  better  taught;  and  since 

A  Morrison  has  toiled, 
And  he,  of  mission-men,  the  prince  — 

Gutzlaff,  the  error  foiled  — 
13* 


150  TO    THE    CHINESE    LADY. 

And  we  have  seen  that  on  its  night, 
So  hopeless  and  so  long  — 

Have  fallen  sparkles  of  the  light 
That  to  the  skies  belong  — 

We  cherish  the  exalted  faith, 
Life  bursting  from  the  dead  — 

That  China  quickly  shall  be  one 
In  Christ,  the  living  Head. 


J 


I   A     I.ANTKKNK    VS.    LA    GUILLOTINE.  151 


LA   LANTERNE  vs.  LA   GUILLOTINE.* 


"Auuty  to  the  Lanterne  ! ' "  f   Republicans  sung, 
"When  Paris  with  tocsins  of  Liberty  rung; 
When  law  for  the  mob  did  tribunes  manufacture 
(Law,   like   a   frail   potsherd,  for   villains   to   frac- 
ture), 
"When  the  few  for  the  good  of  the  many  must  bleed, 
And  justified  still  by  the  end  was  the  deed, 
"  Away  to  the   Lanterne !   and  hang  by  the  neck 
Aristocrats,  peers,  at  the  plebeian's  beck;" 

*  This  piece  tells  its  own  story.  A  magnificent  colossal  Lan- 
ia  front  of  Concert  Hall,  Boston,  of  curious  device  and  rare 
workman-hip.  invites  passengers  to  enter  an  elegant  and  fashion- 
able place  of  refreshmrrtt. 

t  The  frenzied  cry  of  the  Jacobins  in  the  time  of  the  Freneh 
Revolution,  when  many  who  fell  under  the  popular  odium  were 
hung  on  the  lamp-irons,  without  judge  or  jury. 


152  LA    LANTERNE    VS.    LA    GUILLOTINE. 

And   though,    by  the    steel,  blood   of   mother    and 

daughter, 
Sire,  son,  wife,  and  husband,  was  poured  out  like 

water, 
The  Lanterne  won  laurels,  so  quick  and  so  clean 
Its  work,  that  it  rivalled  the  great  Guillotine ! 

Those    days   have   gone  by    (we  may   say  without 

flattery, 
They  were  days  of  dark  doings,  and  bloodshed  and 

battery)  ; 
And  though  revolution,  to  shift  on  the  throne 
One  king  for  another,  to  us  is  unknown, 
Though  horrid  Sans-culottes  ne'er  sharpen  the  axe, 
That  in  spoils  of  nobility  they  may  go  snacks, 
Though  swearing  fish-women,  of  snarled  elfin  locks, 
And  Amazon  fists,  may  not  Royalty  box, 
Though   blood   on   our   pavements   in    rivers  don't 

run, 
Nor  Tragedy  stalk  there  in  frenzy  or  fun, 
Yet  we  have  our  Lanterne,  and  soon  shall  be  seen 
A  rival  in  doings  to  great  Guillotine ! 

Hush,  fears !  we  assure  you  we  never  will  drive  at 
Such  brutal  outbreakings ;  our  doings  are  private ; 


LA     1  .VMM  KM!     VS.    LA    GUILLOTINE.  153 

We  Bmear  not   our  tacts,  we  doff  not  our  clothes, 
We've  do  truculent  oath  (though  'tis  under  the 

rose), 
Our  Lanterne  contemplates  all  politics  right; 

,iv  Democrat)  Whig,  and  somewhat  Jacobite; 
With  bow.  smirk,  and  smiling,  we  gentlemen  greet, 
For  the  ladies  (soft  souls),   we    have  compliments 

moot) 
We   hail   not   new-comers  with    awkward    ball-car- 
tridges, 
Though  (once  on  our  manor),  we  pluck  them  like 

partridges ; 
We  know  how  to  win  them;  success  will  be  seen, 
Our  Lunterne  shall  rival  the  great  Guillotine ! 

And  then  to  attract  them,  a  token,  a  show, 

Or  what    you    choose    call   it,  to  please  folks,  you 

know  — 
We  Ve  no  rusty  symbol,  for  who  but  an  ass 
Would  Bet  up  a  scare-crow?  —  our  Lunterne  is  glass, 
All  gilded,  and  soaring,  pagoda-like,  up, 
Where  men  worship  gods  that  are  carved  on  the 

cup; 
Most  cunningly  stained  'tis  with  curious  device, 
Of  "jub-p   with  spices"  " sling-cobbler  with  ice ; " 


154  LA    LANTERNE    VS.    LA    GUILLOTINE. 

"Egg-nog"  "tip  and  ty,"  "fiscal  agent"  at  lunch; 
For  supper,  " stone  wall"  and  "poor  man's  whiskey 

punch  ;  " 
Sure  the  de'il  at  invention  of  agents  was  mean 
In  France,  with  La  Lanterne  and  great  Guillotine ! 

"  Wormwood  floaters  "  *  have  we,  on  which  tipplers 

may  float 
To  the  gulf  of  black   death,  where   there 's   never 

a  boat; 
"Knickerbocker"    and    "smasher"    "veto"  to   make 

merry ; 
"  Champagne"  "  brandy"  "  whiskey"  good  old  "  Tom 

and  Jerry  ;  " 
"Mulled  wine"  "soda  punch"  for  the  delicate  lip 
Of  sisters  and  wives,  who  may  secretly  sip. 
Our  Lanterne,  blood-red,  is    no   "beacon  to  warn," 
We  laugh  all  such  Temperance  slanders  to  scorn; 
Away  to  the  Lanterne,  young  men !  for  good  cheer, 
Away  to  the  Lanterne,  young  ladies !  nor  fear ; 
For  manhood  is  monarch,  and  beauty  is  queen 
At  the  Lanterne,  the  rival  of  great  Guillotine ! 

*  The  unlearned  are  notified  that  these  are  the  classic  names 
of  favorite  intoxicating  drinks,  mingled  and  sold  at  this  interest- 
ing establishment. 


l.A     I.VMKKM:     \  •>.     l.V    GUILLOTINK.  155 

Come,  Epicures!   skill  shall  as  lordly  a  dish 
Prepare,  as  the  sand  ever  gave  of  shell-fish. 
Whoever  has  money,  to  him  we  will  sell. 
(The  penniless  loafer  may  "liquor"  in  hell)  ; 
Spruce    Clerk,  who   hast  money!    come  hither  and 

buy, 
Little  Children,  who    gaze  at    our  Lanterne,  come, 

try  : 
Though    young,    time    nor    money   may   stay   with 

you  long, 
Eat  and  drink  ere  both  go  like  a  bon  vivanCs  song, 
Come  Gay,  and  come  Sober,  Bucks,  Bruisers,  anxl 

all, 
Tall,  Short,  Wise,    and  Simple,    come,  buy  at   our 

call; 
Try  all,  and  say  all,  if  you  don't  find  us  keen, 
Our  Lanterne  's  a  joke  to  the  great  Guillotine ! 


156  BEVERLY. 


BEVERLY, 


"  They  are  all  gone  into  a  world  of  light, 
And  I  alone  sit  lingering  here." 

Hetvry  Vaughom,  — 1614. 

Yon  starry  world  hath  them  received, 

All  through  their  Saviour's  grace ; 

And  I,  by  hope  once  more  deceived, 
Seek  thee,  my  native  place. 

Why  seek? — Of  their  dim  footsteps  here 
Mine  eye  discerns  no  trace. 

One  twelvemonth  of  my  early  span, 
They  say,  I  measured  here; 

Unknowing  of  the  hopes  of  man, 
Unknowing  of  his  fear; 

Too  young  to  feel  prospective  pain, 
Or  care,  forever  near. 


ri  V1HLY.  l.")7 


Too  young  to  know  the  tender  bliss 
That  \s  bud  about  his  way, 

Who  goes  to  slumber  with  a  kiss, 

From  slumber  wakes  to  play ; 

His  mother's  treasure  all  the  night, 
Her  treasure  all  the  day. 

I  would  that  years  could  give  me  back 

That  cynosure  of  joy, 
By  which  alone  I  'd  steer  my  track, 

Forever  but  a  boy; 
My  tiny  ocean  always  calm, 

My  boat,  a  tireless  toy. 

I  would  years  subsequent  I'd  given 
To  thee,  my  native  place ; 

Here  lived  for  earth,  here  lived  for  heaven 
Like  those,  who,  by  his  grace, 

Their  Maker  served  in  this  sweet  spot, 
And  now  behold  His  face. 

I  would  in  Memory's  blotted  book, 

A  leaf  I  had  of  thee, 
Which  I  might  sometimes  turn,  to  look 

At  careless  Infancy, 
14 


158  BEVERLY. 


As  others  do,  as  others  will, 

But  which  is  not  for  me. 

No  !  —  tost  on  a  continual  wave 
Am  I  of  sorrow's  strife, 

That  only  doth  disclose  a  grave, 

With  dole  and  darkness  rife, 

He  anguish  knows,  whose  bark  is  beat 
By  every  sea  of  life. 

My  native  place !  —  how  falls  the  word 
In  sweetness  on  the  heart! 

A  tear  ?  —  away  !  —  it  were  absurd 
For  idle  tears  to  start; 

Or  bitter  thoughts  to  come,  where  I 
Have  neither  lot  nor  part. 


PRAYER    FOR    A    SOX    AT    SEA.  159 


PRAYER  FOR  A  SON  AT  SEA. 


Mt  prayer  goes  up  this  Sabbath  morn  ;  — 
I  cannot  choose,  this  morn,  but  pray 

For  him,  my  son,  my  eldest  born, 
On  ocean's  desert,  far  away  — 

That  Tnor,  whose  presence  still  is  found 
Where  Day's  swift  pinions  farthest  go, 

Witt  with  that  presence  him  surround  — 
An  JEgis,  fronting  every  foe. 

0  sacred  season !  blessed  time ! 

To  home  and  household  memories  given, 
When  Sabbath  calm  and  Sabbath  chime 

So  iwi M-tly  urge  our  flight  to  heaven. 


160 


PRAEYR    FOR   A    SON    AT    SEA. 


I  see  its  glorious  sunshine  rest 

On  field  and  flower,  on  spire  and  tree ; 
And  thoughts,  like  birds,  forsake  their  nest, 

And  soar  and  fly,  my  God,  to  Thee. 

I  hear  the  first  wild  hymn  that  swells 
From  yonder  quiring  temple-grove ; 

I  hear  discourse  those  village  bells 
Of  nobler  courts  and  hymns  above. 

To-day,  what  thousands  from  their  homes, 
In  villages  and  towns,  will  pour 

To  throng  the  heaven-directed  domes, 
Thee,  gracious  Father,  to  adore ! 

Those  at  my  home,  my  girl  and  boy, 
Arrayed  by  their  fond  mother's  care  — 

"With  willing  steps  and  chastened  joy, 
Will  duly  to  Thy  house  repair. 


But  one  —  whose  little  hand  in  mine 
Enclasped  —  whom  I  to  worship  led, 

Who  early  loved  the  Voice  divine, 
Whose  early  tear  for  sin  was  shed  — 


PRATER    FOR    A    SON    AT    SEA.  161 

Whose  smile  beguiled  rae  oft  of  cares, 
"Whose  words,  "t  WM  music's  self  to  hear, 

Round  whom  were  reared  faith's  earnest  prayers, 
For  whom  was  dropt  hope's  frequent  tear  ; 

Whose  manly  gait  't  was  joy  to  see ; 

Whose  open  brow  was  honor's  throne ; 
Whose  morn  gave  promise  unto  me 

Of  brilliant  day  —  my  child,  my  own, 

Is  with  the  sailor,  on  the  deep, 

Where  bright  and  joyous  hope  is  dim. 

I  think  upon  my  boy  and  weep  ; 
I  cannot  choose  but  weep  for  him, 

Whose  lot  it  is,  afar  to  roam  ; 

No  gentle  tones  to  greet  his  ear  ; 
Shut  out  from  all  the  peace  of  home ; 

N  i  parent,  with  instruction  near. 

To  shield  him  from  the  dreadful  sins 
That  cluster  round  the   Bailor*!    way; 

Exposed  to  one  that  wooes  and  win- 
The  thoughtless,  for  a  certain  prey  ;  — 


162 


PRAYER    FOR   A    SON    AT    SEA. 


Exposed  to  bitter  fears,  lest  he, 
Our  careless,  generous,  absent  one, 

May  be  forgotten !  —  How  could  we 
Forget  him  —  our  beloved  Son?  — 

Perhaps  thick  dangers  wrap  his  form; 

Now  yawns  the  deep  beneath  his  feet; 
Around  him  howls  the  tropic  storm! 

The  waters  weave  his  winding  sheet. 

Dark  thought  flies  back;  dark  thought  flies  far, 
To  home,  to  Sabbath,  and  to  me ; 

O  God !  light  up  for  him  the  star 
That  leads  the  wanderer  unto  Thee. 

And  hear  a  father's  broken  prayer ; 

And  keep  him  from  a  sudden  grave; 
Yet  rather  make  his  soul  thy  care ;  — 

From  passion's  storm  my  sailor  save. 


And  where  the  silent  quicksands  He, 
Or  murmuring  breakers  tell  of  doom, 

And  trooping  o'er  the  angry  sky 

Are  clouds,  that  deepen  midnight's  gloom 


i-u  v v  1:1:    row    A    son    a  r    si:  \. 


163 


There  J  where  strange  terrors  dimly  frown, 
And  fTigfat  his  inexperienced  youth, — 

About   his  feet   flash  freely  down 
The  splendors  of  unerring  Truth. 

And  guard  him  from  the  hopeless  wreck, 
Which  Mind  so  often  makes  of  Mind. 

In  silent  watches  on  the  deck, 

Or  to  his  sleepless  birth  confined, 

May  his  reflections  be  of  God, 

And  prayer  be  on  his  heart  and  lip, 

That  He,  who  once  the  billows  trod, 

Who  taught  the  people  from  the  ship, — 

May  walk  the  waves  of  his  distress, 

And  reach  to  him  Almighty  aid, 
And  with  compassion's  teaching  bless: 
■"Tis   I!  'tis   i:—  be  not  afraid!" 


Then  to  what   wind-  his   top-ails  swell, 

Then  through  what  seas  his  keel  may  drive, 

Chainer  of  Waves  when  they  rebel ! 
Soother;   when  tempests  are  alive, — 


164 


TRAITS    OF    NATURE. 


My  Boy,  preserved,  all  peril  past, — 
Kept  by  thine  ever  watchful  love, 

And  safe  from  storms  and  seas  at  last, 
Shall  anchor  in  the  port  above. 
Sunday  Mokning,  July  4,  1841. 


TRAITS    OF   NATURE.* 


I. 

The  flames  advance  with  sweeping  stride, 

Impatient  to  devour ; 
And  cast  their  lurid  light  upon 

The  scene  of  awful  stour. 


"  Oh !  cling,  my  child !   Oh !  cling  to  me ! 
Yet  nearer!  for  I  dread 
Those  flames  that  wreathe  so  fearfully ; "  — 
The  mother  wildly  said. 

*  "  When  the  Steamer  Lexington  was  burnt,  January,  1840,  in 
Long  Island  Sound,  a  child,  partly  scorched,  was  seen  floating 
near  the  boat,  quite  dead ;  its  face  was  covered  with  a  green  veil." 


UTS     OF    N  ATI  FBI  .  1 '*»•"> 

Ami  closer  to  her  throbbing  In-art, 
When-   harm  might  ne'er  annoy, 

With  all  a  yearning  mother's  far •<  . 
S       preaoed  her  little  boy. 

Ami  fiercer  blazed  the  fiery  doom  ; 

She  knew  its  presence  near ; 
For  self,  amid  her  mightier  care, 

She  had  no  thought  or  fear. 

"  O  mother !  save  me !  for  I  feel 
The  dreadful  lire  is  nigh; 
It  burns !  it  burns !   Oh !  clasp  me  close ! 
Oh  !  closer !   or  I  die  I  " 

The  frenzied  mother,  taught  by  love, 

Which  only  mothers  know, 
To  shield  her  little  trembling  boy 

From  the  devouring  foe, 

Tears  off  her  veil,  and  on  his  face 

Binds  fast  the  fragile  screen  ; 
If  thus  she  might  that  foe  and  him 

A  barrier  put  between  ! 


166 


TRAITS    OF    NATURE. 


II. 

Night's  dream  pursueth  me  by  day;  —  * 

Still  fancy  doth  behold 
Those  upraised  hands,  to  keep  away 

The  pitiless,  keen  cold. 

O  Boy!  thy  suffering  toucheth  me 
Yet  more  than  theirs,  who  met 

With  manhood's  stoic  constancy, 
The  doom  that  them  beset. 

More  eloquent  thy  helpless  woes 

And  thy  imperfect  pain, 
Than  all  the  mightier  pangs  of  those, 

Who  battled  fate  in  vain. 

For  in  the  terrors  of  that  hour 

Thou  couldst  not  understand 
How  she  —  whose  watchful,  shielding  power 

Had  ever  been  at  hand, 


*  "  A  little  boy,  four  years  old,  was  found  in  the  boat,  frozen ; 
with  both  hands  pressed  against  his  ears  —  the  emblem  of  help- 


lessness in  suffering." 


TRAITS    OF    NATUKK.  167 

To  MUM   thee  from  the  stormy  strife, 

Which  mortals  here  betide  — 
How  she,  who,  to  protect  thy  life, 

Would  willingly  have  died, 

Coitltf  see  thee  in  that  icy  boat, 

Nor  fly  to  save,  nor  why, 
Mid  those  strange  horrors  doomed  to  float  — 

Thou  shouldst  be  left  to  die. 

Methinks,  as  Cold  around  thy  frame 

Its  dreadful  mantle  flung, 
And  chilled  thy  heart,  thy  mother's  name 

Dwelt  on  thy  moaning  tongue. 

What  thoughts  of  rescue  briefly  past, 
What  fears,  't  were  vain  to  say ; 

Didst  thou  expect  her  till  the  last, 
To  snatch  her  child  away 

From  the  insidious,  fatal  sleep 

Of  those  who  sleep  to  die? 
From  the  expectant,  eager  Deep, 

That,  frowning,  curled  on  high? 


168  TRAITS    OF   NATURE. 

And,  franticly,  her  babe  from  harms, 
To  save  such  wealth  too  blest  — 

To  clasp  within  her  straining  arms, 
And  hush  upon  her  breast? 

Too  busy  she  to  heed  thy  fate  ! 

She,  too,  has  work  with  Death! 
On  child  and  mother  angels  wait, 

To  take  the  parting  breath. 

O  Boy!  the  separation  made 
Was  short,  indeed,  to  thee  ;  — 

A  sigh  —  and  on  that  bosom  laid, 
To  rest  eternally. 


Till.    UNSPOKEN    AT    SEA.  169 


THE    UNSPOKEN    AT    SEA 


Why  don't  one  of  the  thousand  ships 

That  cross  each  other's  different  way, 
On  Tropic  waters,  or  where  dips 

The  rudder  in  some  Orient  bay, 
If  eel  her  that  left  us  months  ago, 

"With  him  on  board,  so  dear  to  me  — 
And  give  to  winds  that  westward  blow, 

Report  of  "Spoken  far  at  Sea?" 

Why  do  n't  some  homeward  bark  make  sign, 
And  catch  the  signal  from  her  mast, 

Though,  there  might  not  be  word  or  line 
Of  greeting,  as  each  hurried  past  ? 

Such  kindly  act  would  hundred  hearts, 

Now  dark  with  doubt,  light  up  with  glee; 
15 


170 


THE    UNSPOKEN    AT    SEA. 


I  'm  sure  't  would  mine :  for  hope  departs,  — 
She  's  yet  Unspoken  on  the  Sea. 

I  seize  in  haste  the  daily  sheet; 

Nor  business,  news,  nor  fashion's  call 
Allures  me,  so  I  may  but  see  't  — 

That  name  more  welcome  than  them  all ! 
I  shudder  at  "Disasters,"  skip 

The  "  Cleared,"  —  "  Arrived  "  detains  not  me 
Then  dash  it  down  with  quivering  lip ;  — 

She  is  Unspoken  still  at  Sea. 

I  speculate  on  chances ;   think 

How  many  sail  o'er  that  blue  main, 
Who  meet  and  hail,  depart  and  drink 

To  such  brief  challenge  yet  again, — 
And  wonder,  in  this  lapse  of  time, 

These  weary  days,  thrice  told  to  me  — 
Through  various  latitude  and  clime, 

She  's  yet  Unspoken  far  at  Sea. 


While  yon  great  highway  is  alive 
With  canvass,  waving  like  sea-wings, 

And  homeward  countless  vessels  drive, 
And  "homeward"  every  sailor  sings, 


T11K     INSTOKEN    AT    SEA.  171 

Sav,   is  she  of  that   caravan 

Companionless  ?  —  and  yet  must  she 

Of  that  long  file  be  rear  or  van,  — 
The  Unspoken  ship  that's  far  at  Sea? 

'T  is  false  !   that  dream  of  yesternight, 

When  sorceress  Fancy  conjured  up 
Ghosts  of  the  past  —  each  jeering  sprite 

The  prophet  of  a  sadder  cup  ;  — 
T  was  not  that  ship  I  saw  go  down ! 

*T  was  not  my  boy  who  called  on  me, 
When  ocean,  gathering  in  one  frown, 

Closed  o'er  the  Unspoken  ship  at  Sea! 

I  know  that  Fear  loves  well  to  sketch 

The  reeling  mast,  the  shattered  side, 
And  lingers  strangely  round  the  wretch 

Who  sinks  in  the  remorseless  tide; 
And  yet,  in  after  days,  such  thought 

Has  served  for  jest  and  laughter  free, 
When  favoring  gales  to  port  have  brought 

The  ship  Unspoken  on  the  Sea. 

I  saw  her  sit  upon  the  deep; 
She  floated  like  a  perfect  thing, 


172  THE    UNSPOKEN    AT    SEA. 

All  conscious  that  she  was  to  keep 
A  gem,  and  back  the  treasure  bring. 

I  saw  her  beating  first,  as  though 

She  'd  coyly  test  her  powers,  —  how  she 

All  proudly  leaped,  at  length,  and  so 
She  left  us  —  nor  was  Spoke  at  Sea! 

That   voyage,  —  her  first!  —  we   prosperous 
deemed 

Would  be,  when  to  the  outward  breeze 
She  flung  her  sheets,  like  one  that  seemed 

Self-confident,  and  at  her  ease, 
Our  cheers  receiving  as  she  past; 

The  proud,  good  ship  !   it  cannot  be,  — 
O,  no,  that  voyage  is  not  her  last, 

Though  she  's  Unspoken  still  at  Sea. 

Her  taper  masts,  her  frame  of  oak, 

Grace,  strength,  in  due  proportion  gave; 
From  stem  to  stern,  a  braver  woke 

Never  the  sleeping  giant  wave. 
She  must,  she  shall  outlive  the  blast 

That  sends  down  navies !     Does  not  she 
Hold  precious  freight?     Aye,  she,  at  last, 

Will  come,  though  Spoken  not  at  Sea. 


LINES.  173 


LINES, 


ON    RECEIVING   FROM   THE  AUTHOR  A  COPT   OF   "  SCENES   IN    THE  HOLT   LAND. 


■  Scenes  in  the  Holy  Land ! "  —  and  I  have  walked 
In  Palestine;  breathed  Syria's  air,  and  talked 
With  elder  Hebrews;  —  and  I  have  drawn  near 
Apostles,  yes,  my  Lord,  without  a  fear. 
The  glory  seen  that  over  Bethlehem  hung ; 
The  anthem  heard  that  shining  angels  sung  ; 
And  star-led  with  the  Shepherds  to  a  stall, 
An  Infant  found  the  Monarch,  Sire  of  All  : 
Y  -.  seen  him,  who  a  little  one  became, 
That  little  ones  may  lisp  and  love  his  Name  ; 
In  riper  years  beheld  him  children  bfofiS, 
Of  such  his  kingdom ;   Sickness  seen,  I)i  t 
And  Death,  the  victor,  vanquished,  from  him  fly ; 
15* 


174  LINES. 


Seen    him    rebuke    the    storm  —  walk   waters,   and 

with  eye 
Of  sorrow  bent  on  lost  Jerusalem, 
Discern  her  miseries  and  weep  o'er  them; 
Beheld  him  at  the  Supper  —  sinful  me ! 
Seen  tears  of  God  bedew  Gethsemane ; 
Seen  him,  a  felon,  led  to  Pilate's  hall,  — 
Die  on  the  Roman  Cross  —  earth  wrapt  in  pall 
Of  pitying  Darkness  ;  —  marked  him  from  the  tomb 
Rise,  and  bid  o'er  it  Resurrection  bloom. 
Thanks   for   such    "  Scenes  ! "  —  Not    idly    have   I 

scanned 
That  blessed  progress  "in  the  Holy  Land." 
The  busy  world  awhile  has  stept  aside, 
Faith  seems  exalted,  and  depressed  my  pride. 
Desires  flame  up,  like  Him,  in  grace  to  shine; 
Where  he  has  placed  his  footprint  I  would  mine. 
I  would  be  holy,  harmless,  undenled; 
Like  Him,  the  perfect  Man,  like  Him,  the  spotless 

Child. 


I     MALM     Of    Kl  MKMBRANCE.  175 


A   PSALM  OF  REMEMBRANCE 


Child!   remember  thy  Creator, 

While  thy  thought  is  young  and  new; 

Yield  thy  odor,  morning  blossom! 
While  rt  is  fragrant  with  the  dew. 

Ever  blest  the  early  offering, 

Yean  are  doubtful,  Childhood  true. 

Youth!   remember  thy  Creator, 
Ere  shall  come  the  evil  day, 

When  thy  dreamy  joys  forever 

Will,  like  dreams,  have  past  away, 
-  And  in  them  I  have  no  pleasure," 
Worn  and  weary,  thou  shalt  say. 


176 


A    PSALM    OF    REMEMBRANCE. 


Man !  remember  thy  Creator, 
Now  in  this  thy  vigorous  time ; 

Give  thy  strength  to  thy  Redeemer, 
Ere  in  weakness  sinks  thy  prime; 

Ere  thy  sun,  below  meridian, 
Journeys  to  another  clime. 

Age !  remember  thy  Creator,  — 

Spring  and  Summer,  Autumn,  fled- 

Lo,  the  locks  of  grisly  Winter, 
Streaming  tokens  o'er  thy  head, 

Speak  to  thee  in  silent  message, 
Wailing,  warning  of  the  dead. 

Beauty!  think  of  thy  Creator; 

Witching  as  thy  charms  may  be, 
They  are  fleeting ;  —  there  's  a  reptile 

Waiting  in  the  grave  for  thee. 
Think  of  Him  who  gives  the  beauty 

Blooming  for  eternity. 


Wealth!  think  thou  of  thy  Creator; 

Why  should  riches  be  a  screen, 
Through  which  God,  the  willing  Giver, 

By  the  ingrate  is  not  seen  ? 


A    P8A1  ■    01    kimimiu;  AN.  177 

Hunk  of  Bub,  before  whose  treasures, 
Worlds  on   worlds  uppiled  are  mean. 

Penury !   think  of  thy  Creator ; 

None  more  reason  has  than  thou; 
If  the  wanton   world  is  frowning, 

If  thou  must  unaided  bow, 
Think  of  Friendship  that's  unfailing; 

Think  of  Help  that's  ready  now. 

Debtor!   in  a  Christian  prison, 

Felon!  to  the  scaffold  doomed, 
Weary  wanderer!   vile  transgressor! 

In  sin's  sepulchre  entombed  — 
Hopeless  drunkard !   soul  in  darkness  ! 

Mind!   by  heavenly  light  illumed, 

Freeman !  boasting  of  the  purchase 

By  thy  noble  fathers  made, — 
Wretched  Blare!   the  freeman's  chattel, 

Soul  and  sinews  formed  for  trade  — 
Thou  !   who  hast  from  virtue  wandered, 

Thou!    whose  footsteps  never  strayed; 

Sailor!  on  the  treaeherou9  ocean, 
Watching  wind  or  boding  clouds, 


178 


A    PSALM    OF    REMEMBRANCE. 


O,  remember  thy  Creator's 

Voice  is  piping  in  the  shrouds. 
Fainting  pilgrim  in  the  desert, 

Solitary,  or  in  crowds  — 

Worldling!  Christian!  Doubtful!  Thoughtful! 

Man  of  hope  and  man  of  none  — 
Careless,  Fearful,  Timid,  Daring  — 

Thou  of  friends,  and  thou  alone  — 
Gathered  out  of  Egypt's  darkness  ; 

Thou,  whose  star  has  ever  shone ; 

Taught  from  being's  dawn  how  only 
Thou  mayst  truly,  safely  walk; 

Left,  from  birth,  to  struggle  sorely 
With  the  clogs  that  spirit  balk; 

Never  taught  of  thy  Creator; 

Taught  Him  by  thy  mother's  talk; 


Household!   Hamlet!   Country!   City! 

Honor,  Intellect,  and  Sex ; 
Kingdom  !   Dukedom  !   Province !   Empire ! 

Crowned,  or  crushed,  whom  cares  perplex 
Patient,  Restless,  Joyous,  Mourner, 

Whom  life's  weary  sorrows  vex; 


a    P8  vi  M    91    i;i:Mi:Mr,i;\NCK.  179 

Citizen!   or   Stranger!    Moslem! 

Sultan  !    brother  of  the   sun  ; 
Arab!    .low.  or   Gentile —  humble 

Thee  before  the   Blighty  One  ! 
.Japanese,  and  China  man  ! 

Greenlander,  and  Thug,  undone  ! 

Thou,  with  lease  of  life  before  thee, 
As  thou  fondly  deenvst,  and  thou, 

Faltering  in  the  final  struggle, — 
Death's  cold  signet  on  thy  brow; 

Sickly!   Healthy!   Living!   Dying! 
On  the  mount,  or  in  the  slough. 

Earth !  remember  thy  Creator ; 

Systems!  as  ye  haste  along; 
Hell!   that  moveless  is  forever;  — 

Yea,  thy  fires  to  him  belong  — 
Him,  in  dreadful  wail,  remember! 

Heaven!  remember  Him  in  song. 

Thou  that  writest !    Thou  that  readest  ! 

Idler!   Toiler!   Quick!   or  Slow! 
Thou  that  preaehestl  thou  that  hearest! 


180  HARRIET    NEWELL. 


This,  the  only  lesson  know: 
Now,  remembering  thy  Creator, 
Shun  the  lost,  forgetful 's  woe ! 


HARRIET   NEWELL 


Stranger  !  that  in  this  Isle-of- France  dost    tarry, 
Seek  out  our  Harriet's  solitary  grave, 

Marked  by  the  evergreen;  so  mayst  thou  carry 
Hence,  wholesome  thought,  returning  o'er  the  wave. 

For  this  is  she  whose  death  hath   given  sweet  life 

To  thousands.     Yea,  whose  pangs  of  mortal  strife 
Have  yielded  to  the  pagan  precious  bliss. 

This  island  is  her  monument ;  —  it  doth  belong 
To  Christendom.     Lo,  every  one  in  this 
Loved  soil  hath  portion,  who  in  Christ  hath  part. 

Though  dear  to  early  romance,  by  the  song 
Of  simple  Indian  loves,  told  to  the  heart 

In  charming  story  —  not  thy  power,  St.  Pierre,* 

Endeared  it,  as  her  patient  griefs  and  death  endear. 

*  Bernardine  St.  Pierre,  the  scene  of  whose   "  Paul  and  Vir- 
ginia "  is  laid  in  the  Isle-of-France. 


LAZARUS.  1*1 


LAZARUS. 


Bethany  !  on  thy  site,  as  travellers  tell, 
Rude  and  forlorn,  the  warlike  Arabs  dwell: 
Children  of  penury,  slaves  of  miscalled  fate, 
"  One  God,  their  God,  and  Allah  theirs,  as  great." 
Who  that  surveys  thy  miserable  state, 
Silent  and  dreary,  could  suppose  that  thou, 
Ruined  and  vile,  despised,  forgotten,  now, 
"Wast  honored,  once,  with  presence  of  the  Blessed, 
Salvation's  Prince  —  the  world's  neglected  Guest? 
Who  could  suppose,  where  solitude  is  wed 
To  death,  that  life  came  springing  from  the  dead  — 
When  on  the  grave  was  light  of  victory  cast, 
And  he  restored,  who  had  its  portals  past? 
And  who  would  deem  domestic  bliss,  so  dear 
To  God,  earth's  choicest  flower,  was  cultured  here  ? 
16 


182  LAZARUS. 


Bethany!  name  that  eighteen  hundred  years 
Has  tribute  called  of  sweet,  delicious  tears  — 
Bethany !  name  at  which  glad  visions  come 
Of  friendship,  love,  and  sacred  charms  of  home  — 
With  thee,  how  surely  rise  to  fancy's  view, 
Martha  and  Mary,  and  their  brother,  too ! 
Lazarus,  of  these  the  brother,  much  beloved, — 
And  more  —  disciple,  Jesus  well  approved ; 
Martha,  with  serving  cumbered  for  her  Lord ; 
Mary,  that  meekly  sat  to  hear  His  word. 
Blest  household!   simple,  poor,  yet  free  from  sin, 
And  rich  beyond  compare,  with  Christ  within. 

Lazarus,  diseased,  has  sought  the  couch  of  pain ; 
The  sisters  ask  for  Jesus  —  but  in  vain. 
To  do  his  work,  on  Jordan's  farther  side 
Is  He  whose  presence  could  this  sickness  chide. 
Fraternal  care  wings  thither  strong  appeal  — 
"He  whom    thou  lovest   is   sick:    Lord,  come    and 

heal ! " 
He  comes  not.     Surely  he  will  message  send 
That  shall  rebuke  disease,  and  save  his  friend. 
No  —  death  must  have  its  victim,  so  the  hour 
Of  man's   extreme   may  show  that    God   hath 

power. 


LAZARUS. 


183 


■roe  is  dead]     Is  not  the  Saviour  here? 
Not  to  restore,  but  give  the  kindly  tear: 

Oh,  is   He  absent?   absent  ne'er  before 
From  low  abodes,  where  Sorrow  keeps  the  door. 
How  many  weary  hours  they  've  looked  for  him, 
And  hearts  are  faint,  and  heavy  eyes  are  dim! 
Come,  mournful  music !  soothe  the  weeper's  breast, 
Thai  pours  out  .troubled  song  for  him  at  rest. 

Brother!  thou  wast  our  youth's  delight, 

The  pleasant  stay  of  riper  years ; 
Climbing  with  thee  life's  joyous  height, 

What  knew  we  of  a  vale  of  tears? 
Thou  wast  the  branch  on  which,  in  weakness, 

We,  early  tendrils,  fondly  hung ; 
Around  thy  glorious  strength,  in  meekness, 

Our  timid  woman's  love  was  flung. 


Brother !  a  tie,  whose  mighty  power 

Death  breaks  not,  sweetly  held  us,  three, — 
Not  that  we  each,  in  life's  first  hour, 

Drank  at  one  breast,  and  clasped  one  knee : 
Stronger  than  this  —  the  silken  cord 

That  linked  our  souls  in  gentle  love, 
The  tie  that  bound  us  to  our  Lord 

So  firm  below,  fails  not  above. 


184 


LAZARUS. 


Brother !  the  palm  at  morning  towers 

Its  stem  by  Jordan's  peaceful  stream, 
And  shows  its  crown  of  leaves  and  flowers, 

Bathed  in  the  burning  noonday's  beam: 
At  eve,  the  sorrowing  maidens  see 

The  bruised  stem,  the  broken  bough: 
Weeping  —  the  sad  beholders  we,  — 

Prostrate  in  all  thy  beauty,  thou! 


The  Master's  come! 
meet, 


Him  Martha  hastes  to 


And  falls  in  tears  of  anguish  at  his  feet. 

Why  was  her  earnest,  pious  suit  denied  ? 

"  Hadst  thou  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died ; 

Yet  even  now,  such  is  thy  power  with  God, 

He  can  return,  who  hath  death's  valley  trod  — 

He  shall  arise  in  Resurrection's  day." 

"I  am,"  saith  Christ,  "the  Resurrection,    yea, 

He  that  in  me  believeth,  were  he  dead, 

Yet  shall  he  live,  Believest  thou  what  I  've  said  ?  " 

He  stands  beside  the  grave;  He,  the  grave's 
King, 
Spoiler  of  hell,  can  spoil  Death's  lesser  sting. 
Yet  Jesus  wept;  —  what  rich  compassions  flow 
From  that  deep  fountain  sorrow  breaks  up  so !  — 


RETROSPECTIVE. 


185 


The  stone  removed  —  to  Ilim,  by  whom  is  won 
Victory  alone,  in  praises  speaks  the  Son, — 
That   God,  the  Father,  making  known  His  power, 
Will  raise  Sin's  numerous  slain  to  life  this  hour: 
Then,  in  a  voice  at  which  Death,  trembling,  fled, 
a  Lazarus  !  come  forth  !  "  he  cries.     He  that  was 

dead 
Came    forth,    in    grave-clothes    clad,  and,    buoyant, 

trod 
The  green  earth:    telling  "Christ  is  very  God!" 


RETROSPECTIVE 


How  many,  that  a  few  months  since 
Sat  with  us  by  our  Christmas  fire, 

Have  left  Earth's  low  inheritance, 

And  at  God's  bidding  gone  up  higher ! 


How  many,  we  were  wont  to  deem 
Would  in  gray  hairs  our  solace  be, 

left  these  precincts,  where  men  dream, 
To  test  the  great  reality  ! 
16* 


186 


RETROSPECTIVE. 


A  child,  that  kissed  away  our  care, 

Whose  smiles  strewed  life  with  some  sweet 
flowers, 

Has  left  our  bosom's  love,  to  share 
The  love  of  hyacinthine  bowers ! 

A  friend  —  but  Retrospection!  stop  — 
Nor  stir  the  founts  of  hidden  grief; 

Yet  Him,  I  bless  who,  for  each  drop 
Of  anguish,  has  a  kind  relief,  — 

And  for  each  mortal  hurt,  a  cure, 
That  penetrates  the  heart  within; 

The  Medicine  of  Mercy  sure 

And  safe  for  sickness  wrought  by  sin. 


Religion  —  be  its  treasures  mine  ! 

With  this,  I  am  creation's  heir; 
With  this,  a  worm  with  God  shall  shine 

Without  it,  what  remains  ?  —  Despair  ! 


DECEMBER.  187 


DECEMBER 


Farewell,  December !  cheerless  as  thou  art, 

Arrayed  in  gloom,  thou  hast  for  me  no  smile  ; 
Thou  canst  not  whisper  pleasure  to  this  heart, 

Thy  aspect  cannot  life's  sad  ills  beguile. 
O'er  thee,  the  sombre  child  of  Winter  stern, 

Nature  is  weeping  in  funereal  gloom  ; 
Cheerless  the  trophies  that  adorn  thy  urn ; 

Cold  are  the  rites  that  consecrate  thy  tomb. 

Farewell,  December !  and  with  thee  the  year,  — 
Another  year,  that  ends  its  course  with  thee  ; 

Another  year  that 's  severed  from  my  span, 
Lost  in  embraces  of  Eternity. 


188 


DECEMBER. 


What  hopes  and  fears,  what  schemes  of  future  bliss 
Have  sparkled  on  the  past  with  fairy  beam! 

Futile  those  schemes,  and  false  each  hope,  for  this 
Brief  life  is  but  the  shadow  of  a  dream. 


Farewell,  December !  —  Ere  in  frowns  again 

Thou  reign'st,  the  empress  of  the  howling  storm, 
Perhaps  this  bosom,  free  from  secret  pain, 

May  rest  in  quiet ;  —  this  unconscious  form 
May  pillow  kindly  on  its  lowly  bed, 

And  know  of  grief  no  more.  —  It  will  be  sweet, 
When  gently  called  by  an  approving  God, 

On  yonder  peaceful  shore  to  rest  the  weary  feet. 


WH1TKFIELD.  189 


WHITEFIELD. 

ON    SEEING    HIS   REM.UNB    IN   THKIB   RE8TINQ-PLACE   AT    NEWBURTPORT,  MASS., 
SEPT.    11,   1837. 


And  this  was  Whitefikld  !  —  this,  the  dust  now 
blending 

With  kindred  dust,  that  wrapt  his  soul  of  fire,  — 
Which,  from  the   mantle  freed,  is  still  ascending 

Through  regions  of  far  glory,  holier,  higher. 

Oh,  as  I  gaze  here  with  a  solemn  joy 

And  awful  reverence,  in  which  shares  Decay, 

Who,  this  fair  frame  reluctant  to  destroy, 
Yields  it  not  yet  to  doom  that  all  obey,  — 

How  follows  thought  his  flight,  at  Love's  command, 
From  hemispheres  in  sin  to  hemispheres, 
Warning  uncounted  multitudes  with  tears, — 


190  THE    BIBLE. 


Preaching  the  risen  Christ  on  sea  and  land, — 
And  now,  those  angel  journeyings  above! 
Souls,  his  companions,  saved  by  such  unwearied 
love  ! 


THE    BIBLE 


O  Book!  that  bright  and  burning  Day, 

To  which  all  other  days  are  dim, — 
With  those  who  kneel  in  white  array, 

Cherub  and  saint  and  seraphim, 
With  those  who  testify  for  truth, 

Battlers  for  God  with  rebel  sin, 
Shining  in  their  immortal  youth, 

All  light  without  and  light  within  — 
That  Day  shalt  thou,  a  witness  stand, 
Awful  and  swift,  at  Christ's  right  hand. 

Against  the  hours  of  gross  neglect 
Suffered  o'er  thee  to  idly  pass, 

When  thou  wast  cheated  of  respect 
Given  freely  to  the  mirroring  glass.  — 


I  ill.    BIBL1  .  1 1  •  1 


When    Ka-liioii   sought    1 1  i o « *   not  with   halt* 
Ihe  earnoi    /fill   ami   low   it    Lra\  • 

The  revel ;   when  the  trifling  laugh 

Could  Conscience  nerve,  thy  threats  to 
brave  ; 

And  Beauty  said  thy  page  of  gloom 

Produced  no  flower  of  pleasant  bloom, 

All !   heard  she  not   thy  sacred  voice, 

When  from  the  closet's  corner  thou 
T>ad*-t  her  in  folly's  dream  rejoice, 

And  bathe  in  every  pleasure  now, 
As  one  not  to  reflection  woke; 

Yet  bade  her,  too,  remember  well, 
That  taking  thus  sin's  willing  yoke 

On  earth,  't  would  gird  her  neck  in  hell ; 
'•And   God  to  judgment  all  would  bring," 
Thou  saidst :  "  for  every  secret  thing  ?  " 

Him,  too,  engaged  in  hoarding  pelf, 

Whose  thoughts  on  schemes  of  grasping  ran, 

Thou,  from  thy  silent,  dusty  shelf 
Didst  often  warn,  "  Remember,  man ! 

Bethink  thee  of  thy  narrow  bed, 
Curtained  alone  with  sullen  night ; 


192 


THE    BIBLE. 


Where  thou  must  quickly  lay  thy  head, — 

Then  whom  shall  this,  thy  wealth,  delight  ?  " 
He  answered  not,  but  hated  thee 
The  more  for  thy  fidelity. 

A  father's  holy  counsel  given, 

A  mother's  often  bended  knee, 
Both  now  before  the  throne  of  heaven  — 

That  he  should  love  and  ponder  thee, 
Forgotten  —  in  his  dreadful  hour 

Where  for  consoling  shall  he  look? 
Tremendous  is  thy  wakened  power, 

Eternal,  wondrous,  hated  Book. 
Would  that  the  sons  of  men  were  wise 
To  seek  the  treasure  of  the  skies! 


THE    DEAF    AND    DUMB.  193 


THE  DEAF  AND  DUMB 

SET   TO   MUSIC   BT   A.    P.    RKiraiCH. 


Ye  cultivated  minds,  that  know 
Of  intellectual  bliss  the  sum  — 

Ye  hearts,  that  with  sweet  pity  glow, 
Regard  the  hapless  Deaf  and  Dumb! 

On  them  the  storms  have  rudely  blown, 
They  wither  on  the  breast  of  even ; 

Receive  the  flowerets  to  your  own, 

Their  fragrance  will  ascend  to  heaven. 

In  knowledge  let  them  freely  share, 
From  the  waste  mind  let  darkness  flee 

Bid  the  bright  day-beam  kindle  there 
The  lamp  of  Immortality. 
17 


194  THE    DEAF    AND    DUMB. 

Though  soothing  blandishment  ne'er  cheers 
Their  solitude,  nor  utterance  kind, — 

Yet  mutual  sympathy  is  theirs, 

The  language  of  the  kindred  mind. 

And  this  shall  bless  you,  and  the  tear 
Nature's  pure  accent  —  will  reveal 

Emotions,  undefined,  yet  dear, 

The  tribute  which  the  heart  can  feel. 

Yes !  the  unuttered,  earnest  prayer 
Of  Innocence  shall  rise,  while  some 

"Winged  messenger  to  God  will  bear 
The  offering  0f  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 


-l  RANGE    THIN  195 


STRANGE    THINGS 


'T  is  strange  that  I  should  plant  or  build, 
Or  schemes  of  busy  pleasure  pl*m ; 

So  simple  and  so  all  unskilled 
In  what  concerns  my  span ; 

Uncertain  whether  my  next  breath 

May  not  be  lost  in  death. 

'Tis  strange  that  I  so  lightly  go 

Where  slumber  doth  the  senses  steep;  — 

"What  if,  all  unaware,  the  foe 
Steal  on  my  sleep? 

And  from  soft  rest  and  visions  bland 

I  journey  to  the  spirit-land? 


196 


STRANGE    THINGS. 


'T  is  strange  that  in  the  crowded  mart 
I  do  not  Death,  the  toiler,  see ; 

None  busier  in  his  proper  part, 
More  faithful  none,  than  he. 

Out  of  these  thousands,  what  if  I 

Am  bid  to  shut  up  shop  and  die? 

'Tis  strange  that  at  the  bed  of  pain, 
Where  some  poor  sufferer  sinks  away- 

And  soul,  soon  to  be  free  again, 
Peeps  from  its  cage  of  clay  — 

I  stand,  nor  timely  lesson  learn. 

That  I  must  go,  and  not  return. 

'T  is  strange  that  when  my  precious  one 
Unfolded  silver  wings  and  fled, 

I  only  deemed  my  little  son 
Was  with  the  early  dead  — 

Nor  looked  where  sinless  infants  bow, 

Nor  knew  he  was  an  angel  now. 


'T  is  strange,  where  grasses  thickly  wave 
Above  the  churchyard's  narrow  beds, 

As  thoughtfully  I  scan  each  grave, 
And  envy  those  unaching  heads, 


PRESBYTERIAN. 


r.»; 


Hope  flies  not  to  ■  happier  shore, 
Where  I  shall  grieve  and  sin  no  more. 

T  ii  strange  that  mortals  act  awhile 
Such  meagre  parts  in  every  age, 

And  strut  their  hour,  and  weep  and  smile. 
And  wearied,  quit  the  stage,  — 

And  still  the  drama  hurries  on  ; 

O  God.  what  prize  is  lost  and  won ! 


PRESBYTERIAN. 


THE   WORD    PRESBYTERIAN    ANAGRAMATIZED.    13   BEST    IS    PRAYER.  ' 

NOT   so!  —  in  unambitious  day 

Of  her  tirst  love,  be  thus,  it  might, — 
Not  now  Bhe  cares  who  best  can  Pray, 

But  who  is  best  approved  in  Fight. 
Of  Paul  are  some,  Apollos  others, — 

And  to  the  world  would  have  it  be  ; 
Which  quotes  no  more  their  love  as  brothers, 

But  "how  these    Christians  disagree!" 
17* 


198  JOHN    ELIOT. 


Weep!   that  her  elders  faint  in  prayer; 

Weep  !  that  her  young  men  turn  to  sin ; 
Weep !  that  her  arm  is  palsied,  where 

She  conquered  once,  and  still  should  win. 
Weep!  that  her  lamp  so  dimly  burns, 

And  by  her  influence,  loathing  light, 
That  Mercy's  cloud  of  brilliance  turns 

On  the  whole    Church  its  edge  of  night. 
1838. 


JOHN  ELIOT,   OF  ROXBURY. 

Obit.  1690. 


"  Such  priest  as  Chaucer  sang  in  fervent  lays, 
Such  as  the  heaven-taught  skill  of  Herbert  drew." 

There  are,  who,  leaving  house  and  lands  and  home, 
Take  up  the  exile's  lot,  and  far  hence  go 
Unto  the  Gentiles,  winning  them  from  woe  ; 
And  sweetly  teaching  such  as  wildly  roam, 
Steadfast  to  be  in  Christ.     Their  temple  dome 
None  other  than  what  woods  and  skies  bestow. 
Foremost  of  these,  Apostle !  thee  we  know ;  — 


wma  r    SHALL    WE    11  LVE 


199 


And  when  at  judgment  to  award  do  come 
The  self-denying  servants  of  the  King, 

Thou,  faithful  with  the  faithful,  wilt  be  seen, 
And  for  thy  jewels   wilt,   triumphant,  bring  — 

To  which   the   starry  gems  of  heaven  are  mean  — 
The   India.v,  by  the  Spirit  rendered  free, 
Through  Truth  translated,  taught,  and  lived  by 
thee. 


WHAT    SUALL  WE    HAVE? 


Tn  en  Peter  said  to  Jesus,  "  All  we  Ve  left, 

And  followed  Thee  —  O,  might  we  follow  faster  — 

Thv  love  makes  rich ;  yet  Love  hath  us  bereft ; 
What  .-hall  we  have,  in  recompense,  our  Master?" 


u  Left  all,"  forsooth !  yes,  baits,  and  hooks,  and  lines, 
And  bobs,  and  tangled  nets,  and  crazy  wherry  ; 

And  delving  nights  and  days  in  watery  mines 
For  silver  pieces  ;  —  modest,  Peter,  very  ! 


200 


WHAT    SHALL    WE    HAVE  ? 


"  And  followed  thee."  Ah,  thriftless,  thankless  task, 
To  go  with  One  who  leads  the  worlds  of  beauty! 

Yet  did  men  know  Him,  they,  methinks,  would  ask, 
Yes,  beg  and  plead  to  be  allowed  such  duty. 

"  What  shall  we  have  ?  —  we  track  a  path  of  fears  ; 

And  scorn  and  scoffing  are  our  crown  of  glory ; 
The  Master  tells  of  bonds  and  stripes  and  tears  ;  — 

The  Garden  and  the  Cross  shall  end  the  story." 

And  so  in  Palestine,  they  creep  and  talk; 

Selfish  to-day,  and  cowards  on  the  morrow ; 
Most  lively  counterparts  of  us  who  walk 

With  Jesus  less  in  confidence  than  sorrow. 

Poor,  blinded  wanderers !  who  can  only  see 

A  needy  Nazarene  —  ye  with  Him  have  treasure, 

Which  but  to  count  exhausts  eternity; 

The  dust  ye  tread  is  gold  that  mocks  at  measure. 


The  tears  ye  drop  for  His  dear  sake  are  gems;  — 
Your  rags  of  poverty  are  Victory's    banners  ;  — 

Your  path  of  blood  is  strewn  with  diadems  ;  — 
Those  scoffs  and  scorns  are  music  of  Hosannas ! 


REV.    PAUL    com  H.  201 


REV.   PALL   COUCH.   OF   NEWBLRYPORT 


RELEASED    AFTER    TIIIRTT    VEAR3    SICKNESS. 


Tmk  man.*   whose  affliction  his  fellow  had  been, 

Mure  constant  than  friendship  the  world  ever  saw, 
Waited  Long,  till  the  Saviour  commanded,  and  then 

Infirmity  heard  and  respected  the  law  ; 
More  blest  —  thou  for  Heaven  didst  patiently  wait 

Command  from  thy  Maker,  whose  will  was  thy 
choice ; 
Determined,  though  kept  by  that  will  at  the  gate, 

To  r-hare  with  those  entered  in  Gratitude's  voice. 

Thou  wast  early  engaged  in   Hi-  service;  thy  sword 
Was  glittering;  thy  helmet  and  breastplate   were 
on  : 

*  John  v :  5. 


202  REV.    PAUL    COUCH. 

The  weapon  of  All  Prayer  thou  tookest,  the  Word 

And  Spirit,  by  whom  is  the  victory  won  ;  — 
But  a  less   dazzling   field,   though   as  lofty,  was 
thine ; 
Thou  wast  called  from  Avar's  brightness  and  glory 
and  din, 
To  show  how  in  darkness  the  Christian  may  shine, 
How  in  quiet  the  soldier  of  Jesus  may  win. 

Thy  sky  was  not  all  overclouded  with  fears,  — 

For  there  was  the  rainbow  of  morning  and  even  ; 
Thy  cup,  to  the  brim,  was  not  wholly  of  tears, — 

A  pearl  to  dissolve  in 't  was  graciously  given  ; 
Thou    hadst  friends,  such  as  render  calamity  dear, 

When   kindness   the  worth  of  true   friendship 
reveals  ; 
A  sister  to  help  thee,  console  thee,  and  cheer, 

With  love  which  a  sister  in  Christ  only  feels. 

There  are  those  who  may  actively  serve,  and  they 

go 
On  wheels  of  the   lightning,  their  chariot   the 

flame; 
There  are  those  who  serve  willingly,  waiting,  they 

know 


REV.    PAUL    001  I  it- 


203 


Their  passive  obedience  is  counted  the  same; 
Bill    to   thee,   more   exulted,   was   given    the   lot 

The  will  of  thy  Master  in  weakness  to  bear; 
That  the  preacher  a  God  whom  the  prosperous 
knew  not. 

In  suffering  might  serve  and  in  patience  declare. 

When  ./Etna  its  anger  doth  speak  out  in  flame, 

And  thunders,  volcanic,  a  city  appall, 
The  slave  of  the  Papacy  calls  on  a  name, 

The  guilty  are  troubled,  yet  cling  to  their  thrall ; 
But  the  more  the  rebukings  of  God  met  thine  ear, 

Thou,  freed  from  the  terror,  didst  love  Him  the 
more  ; 
And  what  in  the  vile  only  kindles  up  fear, 

Led  thee,  in  thy  holiness,  Him  to  adore. 


In   his  garden  of  saints,   when  the  Keeper  doth 
walk, 
And  call   for  his  north  wind  and  south  wind    to 
blow, 
Reviving  the  blossom  and  strengthening  the  stalk. 

And  causing,  abundantly,   spiees   to  flow, — 
He  may  prune,  He  may  break,  He  may  crush,  if 
He  please, 


204 


THE    MOTHER. 


Such  discipline  only  doth  quicken  their  bloom  ;  — 
Though  the  strokes  of  His  love  may  be  heavy,  He 
sees 
The  bruised  and  the  broken  yield   sweetest 
perfume. 


THE    MOTHER 


A  Mother's  love  —  how  great  that  love! 

Nor  crime  nor  folly  makes  it  less; 
The  world  may  scorn,  and  God  may  frown ; 

She  only  knows  her  child  to  bless. 

A  Mother's  care  —  how  great  that  care  ! 

Increasing  with  the  flight  of  years  ; 
"Watchful  in  youth;  in  riper  age 

Still  following  with  its  prayers  and  tears. 


God,  thou  this  burden  laid'st;  —  O   God, 
Thou  only  know'st  its  depth  of  woe 

Or  gladness.     Shall  she,  all  alone, 
Bear  it  unhelped,  unnoticed  ?     NO  ! 


i  aki;   wings  !  205 


TARE    WINGS! 


Take  wings  !   take  wings  !   and  seek  the  lost. 
The  lost,  guilt's  weary,  willing  slave  ; 

Where  lies  he,  helpless,  hopeless,  tost, 
A  wreck  upon  the  whelming  wave ; 

And  seem  to  his  despair  the  dove, 

Whose   symbol  types  relief  and  love. 

Take   wings,  and  seek  the  dreaming  dead, 
The  dead,  o'er  whom  night  holds  misrule  ; 

And.  dipt   in   heaven,  around  him  shed 
The  splendors  of  the   Sunday-school; 

Whose  glories,  woven  on  the  throne, 

Have  hurst,  and  streamed,  and  downward  .-hone. 
18 


206  TAKE    WINGS ! 


Take  wings,  and  fresh  memorials  bear 
Of  by-gone  men,  whose  feet  were  shod  ' 

With  truth  ;  whose  spear  and  shield  was  prayer, 
Who  fought  and  journeyed  up  to  God  ; 

And  shrine,  with  more  than  victor's  fame, 
The  martyr  missionary's  name. 

Yet  speedier,  loftier,  soar  again, 
And  fling  abroad  thy  living  light ; 

And  flood  the  flowering  prairie's  plain, 
And  gild  the  wooded  mountain's  height ; 

Till  rich  redemption's  glory  shines 
On  western  wilds  and  eastern  pines. 

Till,  from  the  unforbidden  tree 

Of  knowledge,  drops  delicious  fruit; 

Where'er  the  curse  hath  had  decree, 
Wherever  roams  the  destitute ; 

On  isles,  that  ocean's  bosom  gem, 

On  continents,  that  fringe  its  hem. 

Take  wings,  take  wings,  a  Voice !  it  comes 
From  wanderers  that  once  were  blest 

With  fair  New  England's  Sabbath  homes, 
A  voice  of  pleading  from  the  West ! 


r  v  b  b  vnxoa  I  207 


rod,  o  herald,  to  t hat  cry, 

AVith   tidings  of  deliverance   nigh. 

Tiding- !  —  the  feet  of  steadfast  men 
Art-  landing,  in  their  beauty  now, 

On  field  and  plain  and  smiling  glen, 
And  the  rejoicing  mountain's  brow. 

Already  have  savannas  rung 

With  music  of  the  lisper's  tongue. 

Already,  where  their  mossy  nests 

Th»-  small  birds  build  on  branching  limb, 

Abroad,  to  listening  solitudes, 

Flows  sweetly  now  the  children's  hymn; 

They  lift  to  God  accepted  strain, 
And  give  to  Christ  a  new  domain. 

The  forest  top's  deep  canopy, 

That   shadowed,  long,  the  wild  beast's  den, 
And  gave  tall  eyry  to  the  fowl. 

Unknown  to  step  of  stranger  men, — 
Now  widely  flings  its  roof  of  green, 
"Where   prayer  and  anthem  rise  between. 

Tidings!  Messiah  here  hath  spoil, — 
Y   '    ampler,  richer,  shall  be   won; 


208  WHICH  ? 

For  these  unfainting  sons  of  toil 

Have  but  one  watchword,  and  't  is,  On  ! 

Till  this  broad  land  shall  cultured  be 
From  Alleghany  to  the  Sea. 

Valley  op  the  Mississippi,  1830. 


w  n  i  c  h  ? 


The  sinner  says :  "  Let  Evil  rule  ; " 

Nor  doth  his  heart  rebel 
To  see  the  Devil's  purpose  done 

On  earth,  as  done  in  hell. 

The  Christian  prays  :  "  Let  God  prevail 

To  Him  be  honor  given; 
And  be  His  perfect  will  obeyed 

On  earth,  as  't  is  in  Heaven." 

One  of  these  prayers,  O  man,  is  thine; 

Thy  body  to  the  sod  — 
Sink,  Spirit!  to  thy  downward  choice, 

Or,  upward,  rise  to  God ! 


PORTENTS.  209 


PORTENTS. 


My  God,  do  lips  wake  martial  story, 

As  they  were  wont,  years  past,  to  wake  ? 
Do  long-forgotten  songs  of  glory 

Upon  the  startled  nations  break  ? 
Does  the  appealing  drum  redouble, 

In  dreadful  beat,  its  former  call  ? 
And  the  sharp  trumpet  ring  of  trouble, 

Of  cities  sacked,  of  states  that  fall  ? 

Hal  haughty  Albion  claimed  dominion 
For  her  swoflen  sceptre,  o'er  the  deeps  ? 

And  oar  bird,  permitted  pinion, 

Where'er  Saint  George's  banner  sweeps  ? 

Shall  our  brave  tars  be  bid  to  tremble 
At  her  subaltern's  lordly  beck  — 
18* 


210 


PORTENTS. 


Her  subjects  once  —  now  ours  —  dissemble 
And  cower,  when  searchers  tread  the  deck? 

Are  our  majestic  ships  in  motion, 

All  bristling  with  the  front  of  war  — 
Soon  to  speak  out,  on  every  ocean, 

Vengeance  for  violated  law? 
Are  our  bright  stars  and  stripes  to  flourish, 

All  proudly,  in  the  conflict's  storm  — 
The  fighting  freeman's  hopes  to  nourish, 

Or  wrap  in  rest  his  mangled  form  ? 

Will  Death  his  eager  lackeys  rally, 

Where  ranks  close  up  and  squadrons  wheel  ? 
And  peaceful  plain  and  happy  valley 

Echo  the  clang  of  murderous  steel  ? 
Will  stern  alarums  shake  the  city? 

Will  conflagration  climb  these  domes  ? 
And  feet  of  those  that  have  no  pity, 

Pollute  our  shrines,  our  halls,  our  homes  ? 


Do  vigorous  men,  who  on  our  mountains 
Their  harvests  reap,  disdain  them  now,— 

And  laurels  ask,  that,  dipped  in  fountains 
Of  purple,  deck  the  hero's  brow  ? 


PORT 


111 


Our  generous  youth  —  will  they  in  clusters 
Forsake  their  hearths  and  quiet  joy 

For  fields  and  camps  where  Battle  musters, 
And  Ruin  follows  to  destroy? 

Our  poets  —  are  they  idly  singing 

Hosannas  to  the  fiery  god  ? 
Our  maidens  —  long  they  to  be  flinging 

Their  roses  o'er  the  men  of  blood  ? 
Is  madness  our  whole  land  possessing, 

To  lavish  thus  her  purchased  boon, 
And  deems  she  peace  a  worthless  blessing. 

That  she  discards  the  gift  so  soon  ? 

Our  rulers  —  are  they,  faithless,  straying 

From  virtue's  path  to  fatal  vice, 
Ambition's  game  unwisely  playing, 

Such  millions  staked  upon  the  dice  ! 
Ha !   all  around  is  sad  replying,  — 

Portents  of  what  is  soon  to  be ; 
Arms  gleam  —  flags  wave  —  the  groans  of  dying 

Survivors'  shrieks,  I  hear  and  see. 

The  Tree  our  noble  fathers  planted, 
Nods,  leafless,  branchless,  to  its  fall ; 


212  PORTENTS. 


The  Liberty,  their  children  vaunted, 
Fair  Virgin !  lies  beneath  the  pall ;  — 

Corruption  saps  the  bond  of  union, 

While  principles  are  bought  and  sold,  — 

And  perjured  statesmen  seek  communion 
Not  now  with  Eight,  but  Power  and  Gold. 

My  God,  Thou  dost  permit  Disorder, 

Foul  bird  —  in  Wisdom's  halls  to  sail ; 
And  from  our  centre  to  our  border 

Dost  let  Distraction  thus  prevail. 
Revoke  the  mandate  that  is  given 

To  Thy  dread  sword,  now  stretched  o'er  us, 
And,  humbled  at  the  throne  of  Heaven, 

We  '11  bless  the  hand  that  stays  the  curse. 

Teach  England,  that  her  highest  duty 

She  owes  to  Honor's  just  decree; 
And  better  far  than  fame  or  booty 

(These  could  she  win)  is  fear  of  Thee. 
Teach  us,  our  cause  to  Thee  committing, 

To  trust  again  Thy  guiding  hand  ; 
Assured,  no  final  ill  permitting, 

Thou  wilt  forgive  and  save  our  land! 

1842. 


THE    POET. 


213 


THE    POET. 


"  Ah,  the  Poet's  mystic  measure 
Is  a  rich,  but  fatal  treasure ; 
Bliss  to  others  —  to  the  master 
Full  of  bitter  and  disaster." 

From  the  Spanish  of  ZorrUla. 


Yet  no  true  Poet  would  resign 
II is  rriuch-loved  lyre, 
Xor  quench  the  fire 

Whose  source  is  sacred  and  divine. 


If,  with  the  roses  on  its  string, 
Be  woven  thorns, 
He  fondly  scorns 

A-i<le  the  instrument  to  flinsr. 


214 


THE    POET. 


Be  sure,  vain  world,  though  in  his  cup 

Be  bitter  dregs, 

The  boon  he  begs 
Is  privilege  to  drink  them  up. 

For  on  its  rim,  so  rude  and  rough, 

His  lips  do  meet 

That  honey-sweet, 
Which  for  his  palate  is  enough. 

Ye  after  meagre  pleasures  strain ; 

His  better  bliss 

He  oft  may  miss, 
Yet  won,  'tis  dearer  for  the  pain. 

Ye  say  he  follows  but  a  shade, 

That  in  a  bright 

Dream  of  the  night 
Glitters,  and  with  the  dawn  doth  fade. 


No!  no!   they're  bubbles  ye  pursue 
He  grasps  the  prize 
Which  to  the  eyes 

Of  Reason,  is  the  fair  and  true. 


THE    rOET. 

215 

Ye 

Dar 
No! 

For 
Ye 

By 

No. 

God 

deem  the  master's   "mystic  measure 

Yields  only  woe, 

And  only  flow 
k  st roams,  whore  wells  his  sparkling 

no!   while  he  the  chord  doth  sweep 

Others  for  bliss 

May  smile  ;  't  is  his 
verv  ecstasy  to  weep. 

[ure. 
treas- 

>> 

deem  his  hidden  riches  mean, 
And  he  but  dotes 
"Who  o'er  them  gloats, 

sordid  sensual  eyes  unseen. 

no!   if  might  his  gift  be  sold, 
And  his  free  heart 
Brought  to  the  mart, 
's  universe  has  not  the  gold. 

— I 

216  QUEEN    VICTORIA'S    FANCY   BALL. 


QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  FANCY  DRESS  BALL, 

AT     BUCKINGHAM     PALACE,     MAT   12,     1842. 


Sit  on  thy  throne,  imperial  Dame, 

True  wearer  of  the  British  crown, 
And  bid  the  thing  that  takes  the  name 

Of  "consort-prince,"  with  thee  sit  down. 
Now  round  ye  both,  may  gather  these, 

Who,  to  betray  ye,  herd  with  fools; 
Knaves,  with  souls  supple  as  their  knees,  — 

Your  flatterers  they,  yourselves  their  tools. 

'T  is  well  they  shine  in  jewels  thus, 
And  at  soft  music's  measure  tread 

Your  ball-room,  to  the  unmeasured  curse 
That  rains  on  every  titled  head. 


QUF.i  IB     Vl«    [       ;i\-     I    \\.  IT    BALL.  217 

Concealed  in  plumes  and  scarfs  and  gold, 
And  sparkling  with  unvalued  stones, 

They  Beem  of  more  than  mortal  mould  ; 
How  can  such  heed  a  people's  groans  ? 

Or  how  can  robes  of  velvet  hide 

Bestrewn  with  gems  and  edged  with  pearls) 
Hearts  throbbing  with  affection's  tide? 

Of  heart  what  know  these  dukes  and  earls  ? 
Or  these  brave  mantles  —  can  they  screen 

Bosoms  where  pity  hath  a  place? 
Hence,  pity !  feeling !  thoughts  so  mean 
r  blanch  an  Honorable's  face. 

Now  let  the  dance  begin  ;  —  begin 

Your  music,  ye  obsequious  slaves ! 
Y't  louder  !  —  your  luxurious  din 

Should  drown  the  shriek  at  Famine's  graves. 
Blase  brighter,  jewels !  for  there  comes 

The  darkness  here  of  Beggary's  hell ; 
Laugh  louder,  nobles  !     u  England's  homes  " 

Send  even  here  their  frantic  yell. 

Haste  to  the  banquet;   antique  plate 
U  heaped  to-night  with  Royal  cheer; 
19 


218  QUEEN    VICTORIA'S    FANCY   BALL. 

And  England's  chivalry  in  state 

To  mock  at  England's  wrongs,  are  here. 

Fill  up  the  beaker !   generous  wine 
At  Labor's  cost,  shall  flow,  as  ye 

Drink  deeply  to  the  "  Right  Divine " 
Of  kings,  and  death  to  Liberty. 

'T  is  true,  your  tankard,  vase,  and  cup, 

And  plate  that  glows  with  burnished  red, 
Whence  England's  proudest,  meanest,  sup, 

While  England's  noblest  faint  for  bread, 
Outvie  the  Babylonian's  feast 

In  pride  and  luxury's  impious  show  ;  — 
Tremble,  ye  tyrants  !  yours  at  least 

Belshazzar's  folly ;  yours  his  woe ! 


HYMN    FOK    THE    MILLENNIUM.  B19 


HYMN   FOR   THE   MILLENNIUM 


O  God,  to  Thee,  from  whom  so  long 

This  darkened  world  has  strayed,  inglorious, 

She  comes,  in  brightness  and  in  song, 

With  crowns  and  harps  for  Thee,  victorious. 


From  where  flames  up  the  morning  sun, 
To  where  he  floods  the  west  with  beauty, - 

From  north  to  south,  not  one,  not  one 
Is  silent  in  this  hour  of  duty. 

Hear!  as  on  Afric's  noble  plains 

Her  Sunday  schools  lisp  songs,  that  gladly 
Go  up,  where  once  were  stripes  and  chains, 

And  fraud  and  gold  that  triumphed  madly. 


220 


HYMN    FOR    THE    MILLENNIUM. 


Hear  China's  worship-wooing  bells ! 

"  Celestial "  now  —  whose  happy  nation, 
By  her  delivered  millions,  tells 

That  her  proud  wall  is  called  "  Salvation." 

And  see !  the  lovely  isles  that  gem 
Old  ocean's  bosom,  fair  and  vernal, 

Are  jewels  in  the  diadem 

That  glory  wreaths  for  the  Eternal. 

The  tree  of  life  yields  glad  perfume, 

With  fresh  buds  crowned,  and  choicest  flowers  ; 

Knowledge  displays  its  living  bloom, 

Where  grace  dispenses  warmth  and  showers. 

Dove  of  the  Lord!   Peace,  brooding,  sits 
Where  fiercely  flew  the  bird  of  glory ; 

And  Waterloo  and  Austerlitz 
Live  only  in  ignoble  story. 


And,  quenched  the  latent  spark  of  rage, 
Hate  adds  no  more  to  party  fuel ; 

And  realms  are  ruled,  though  statesmen  wage 
No  war  of  words,  nor  war  with  duel. 


ana  for  the  millennmm. 


221 


And  where  so  long  the  dreadful  whip 

Of  slavery  scourged  the  flesh,  red  reeking, 

Are  kindness,  love,  and  manhood's  lip, 
Of  holy,  heartfelt  Freedom  speaking. 

The  Heavens,  in  gladness,  shout  to  Thee, 

And  Earth,  in  bondage  lately  lying, 
Rings    back   the   cry,    "  We  're    free  !    we  're 


free  : 


Her  vales,  rocks,  hills,  and  seas  replying. 

Earth  !    Earth  !   to  Christ  (his  kingdom  won), 
In  more  than  primal  beauty  given  — 

Sound  the  high  hymn !   for  now  is  done 
His  will  on  earth,  as  done  in  heaven. 


19* 


222  HYMN. 


HYMN, 

Sung  by  the  Congregation  of  Pine  Street  Church,  Boston,  May 
14,  1848;  prior  to  their  late  Pastor's,  Rev.  Austin  Phelps, 
occupancy  of  the  Chair  of  Bartlett  Professor  of  Sacred  Rhet- 
oric, at  Andover  Theological  Institution. 


That  thou  wast  loved,  and  still  hast  part 
In  all  that  friendship  holds  most  dear, 

Bears  witness  every  burdened  heart, — 
Bears  witness  each  expressive  tear. 

That  from  the  well-spring  of  a  mind, 
Whose  mighty  current  mocks  thy  youth 

For  wants  belonging  to  our  kind, 

Has  ever  flowed  transparent  Truth ;  — 


nniN.  223 


That   thou   didst   hallow  all  our  bliss, — 

And  wreathe  with  Hope's  sweet  Sowers  the  rod, 
And  win  to  brighter  worlds  from  this, — 
La   known  to  us  and  known  to   God! 

We  hoped  that  thou,  our  shepherd,  still 
Wouldst  lead  the  inexperienced  feet; 

And  with  our  old  men,  dowm  the  hill, 

Go  where  in  Death  Life's  waters  meet.  — 

Exemplar,  here,  like  holy  Paul, 

Unmoved  by  flattery  or  by  frown, — 

'Till  summoned  at  the  Master's  call 

To  leave  the  cross  and  take  the  crown. 

'T  is  well  —  our  last  sad  lesson  thus 
We  learn,  beloved  man,  from  thee: 

That  Btreams  of  perfect  joy  for  us 
Rise  only  in  Eternity. 

Yet  go,  —  for  sacred  Duty  calls, 

Where  thou,  for  Christ,  mayst  teachers  teach, — 
And  his  vast  empire,  from  those  halls, 

By  thousand-fold  of  influence  reach  ! 


224  THE    FLAGSTAFF. 


THE    FLAGSTAFF.* 


O  Saviour  !  Thou !  the  Hope  and  Stay 
Of  those  on  land  that  pilgrims  be,  — 

0  Omnipresent!  who  alway 

Art  with  the  Sailor  far  at  sea,  — 

Round  us,  in  mercy,  fold  thy  power; 

Shield  him  in  Peril's  awful  hour. 

*  These  verses,  being  a  response  to  a  request  from  an  esteemed 
friend,  I  have  supposed  would  be  more  acceptable  if  the  circum- 
stances which  elicited  them  were  known.  The  following  letter 
is  accordingly  subjoined. 

Nantucket,  July  6th,  1842. 
Eev.  Wm.  B.  Tappan: 

Dear  Sir — There  are  in  my  church  and  congregation  many 
females  whose  husbands  spend  most  of  their  time  at  sea.  From 
the  "  Lookout "  upon  our  houses  we  see  a  noble  ship  leave  our 
bar  and  disappear  in  the  distant  horizon,  knowing  that  from  three 
to  four  years  must  elapse  ere  that  ship  can  return  from  its  long 


mi    1 1 .  \ < .  - 1  v 1 1 .  225 


"While  on  the  pinion?  of  the  morn 

II      Mies  to   North  or   Southern   zone,  , 

Cleaves   Indian  seas,  or,  round  the   Horn, 

9  •  ks   latitudes  and  land-  unknown, — 
Let  him,  beneath  thy  present  « 
Feel  that  he  cannot  from  Thee  fly. 

and  arduous  voyage.  It  must  pa«s  through  the  burning  heat  of 
the  tropics,  encounter  the  storms  and  icebergs  of  "  The  Cape," 
cruise  among  the  coral  reefs  of  the  Pacific,  and  its  officers  and 
crew  mibt  attack,  in  fearful  conflict,  those  leviathans  of  the  deep, 
who,  by  one  sweep  of  the  tail,  can  toss  a  boat  with  its  whole  crew 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  into  the  air.  It  is  upon  such  enterprizes 
that  many  wives  and  mothers  in  my  parish  see  their  husbands 
depart.  It  not  unfrequently  happen*,  that  eighteen  months  pass 
while  not  one  word  is  heard  from  the  absent  husband  and  father, 
who  is  facing  those  dangers  in  the  distant  solitudes  of  the  ocean. 
As  soon  as  from  our  telegraphic  station  a  Cape  Horn  ship  is  dimly 

_  lished  in  the  horizon,  the  banner  of  the  United  States 
streams  from  our  Flagstaff,  announcing  the  fact  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town.  You  may  imagine  the  emotions  which  that 
sight  must  send  to  many  dwellings.  Some,  whose  husbands  have 
been  absent  from  three  to  four  years,  hope  that  it  is  the  signal  of 
their  return.  Others,  who  have  heard  no  tidings  from  the  absent 
for  many  months,  hope  for  intelligence,  and  know  not  whether 

ire  to  hear  tidings  of  prosperity  or  woe.  Soon,  by  tele- 
graphic signal,  the  name  of  the  ship  is  announced.  And  then  the 
wife,  who  ha*  been  praying  for  her  absent  partner  for  weary 
years,  and  has  heard  no  tidings  from  him  for  many  months,  waits 
in  anxious  suspense,  hour  after  hour,  uncertain  whether  she  is 
again  to  see  the  face,  and  hear  the  voice  of  he*  belove i 
panion,  or  to  receive  the  intelligence  that  she  is  a  widow,  and  her 
children  orphans.  The  outer  door  opens.  The  footsteps  of  a 
man  are  heard  in  the  entry.     Is  it  her  husband,  or  some  one  to 


226  THE    FLAGSTAFF. 


And  feel  that  he  is  safe  whom  Thou 
Dost  cover  with  protecting  shield ; 

We  feel  it,  know  it,  and  we  bow 
In  faith,  where  we  in  hope  have  kneeled, 

And  to  our  Father  tell  our  fear; 

Our  Father!  Thou!  thy  children  hear. 

"We  Ve  looked,  from  the  horizon's  dip, 
To  see  the  slender  mast  ascend, 

Till —  spars  and  sails  —  our  gallant  ship 
"Was  all  revealed,  a  blessed  friend! 


announce  to  her  that  her  husband  is  dead  —  perhaps,  that  he  found 
a  grave  in  the  ocean,  or  on  a  heathen  shore,  more  than  a  year 
ago? 

I  could  fill  many  sheets  with  incidents  of  the  most  affecting 
nature,  which  have  occurred  since  I  have  been  upon  this  island. 
At  our  monthly  concert  of  prayer  for  seamen,  which  is  regularly 
observed,  we  not  unfrequently  have  six  hundred  persons  present 
—  our  large  lecture-room  crowded  to  overflowing.  I  have  occa- 
sionally invited  those  ladies  of  our  congregation  whose  husbands 
follow  the  seas,  to  meet  at  my  house  for  a  social  religious  inter- 
view.   At  our  last  meeting  there  were  seventy  present. 

My  object  in  making  this  statement  is  to  solicit  of  you  the  favor 
to  furnish  us  with  a  few- verses  to  sing  at  one  of  these  meetings. 
I  turn  over  the  various  hymn  books  in  vain  for  any  thing  which 
meets  the  occasion.  If  you  can  find  time  to  express  a  few  of 
your  thoughts  and  emotions  upon  this  subject,  in  verse,  you  will 
contribute  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  who  need  sympathy,  and 
greatly  oblige  your  very  sincere  friend  and  brother  in  the  Gospel. 

John  S.  C.  Abbott. 


ill  I .    II   LG8TAFF.  227 

We've   watched  at   early   coining  dav; 
We've  watched  at  twilight's  lading  ray. 

And  many  a  longing  eye   has  sought 

The  signal  on  our  sentry  stall'. 
And  listening  ears  have  almost  caught, 

Across  the  waves,  the  joyous  laugh 
That  to  oblivion  give-  hi-   pain, 
Who  sees  lus  native  shores  again. 

Thy  will  be  done !  —  though  here  we  meet 
In  doubt  and  tears  and  broken  prayer, 

And  lay  before  the  Mercy-seat 

Our  sighs  and  sadness,  hope  and  care. 

O  Thou,  who  round  us  foldest  power, 

Shield  him  in  Peril's  awful  hour ! 


228  VERSES. 


VERSES, 


Occasioned  by  the  imprisonment  of  Rev.  G.  C,  at  the  suit 
of  a  Bum-distilling  Deacon,  for  writing  against  Intemperance. 
A  fact  of  the  Nineteenth  Century- 


They  Ve  thrust  him  to  the  inner  cell, 

And  planted  bolt  and  bar 
On  him  thus  basely  made  to  dwell 

Where  thieves  and  drunkards  are. 
And  those  that  quailed  beneath  his  eye, 

And  at  his  word  did  cower, 
Have  left  the  greatness  there  to  lie, 

Which  shamed  their  petty  power. 

The  jail  receives  him,  whose  behest 
It  is,  with  tongue  of  flame 


-  KS. 


To  UrgC   repentance,   and   attest 

The   rhanns  of  Jesus'    Name. 
The  jail  receives  him,  who  should  teach, 

In  voice  of  winning  love, 
The  sunken  how  to  rise  and  reach 

The  paradise  above. 

The  meek  disciple  who  at  times 

Takes  of  the  Saviour's  cup  — 
And  then  the  chalice,  drugged  with  crimes, 

Compels  men  to  drink  up, — 
Ye-,  he  whose  hateful,  poisonous  trade, 

Has  by  the  help  of  hell, 
A  thousand  thousand  paupers  made, 

In  cedar  halls  doth  dwell. 

Ay,  bring  him  out!  —  the  Christian   now  — 

Of  all  that's   manly  shorn, — 
That  deeply  on  his  guilty  brow, 

The  world  may   write  its  scorn,  — 
And  mark   with   infamy,  the  soul 

That 's  monument  alone 
Of  meanness,  lasting  as  the  scroll 

Of  bra-  -  less  stone. 


20 


230  TEMPERANCE    JUBILEE    HYMN. 

If  e'er  was  one  whose  deeds  on  earth, 

Are  food  for  fiendish  wit,  — 
Whose  deeper  baseness  stirs  the  mirth 

And  loathing  of  the  pit, — 
The  Judas  that  makes  haste  to  fill 

His  bag  by  misery, 
And  fasts  and  prays  and  drives  the  Still, 

That  hypocrite  is  he! 

1835. 


TEMPERANCE    JUBILEE    HYMN 

BONG  AT  THE   TREMONT  TEMPLE,   BOSTON,   JULY   4,   1843. 


What  boots  it  that  yon  green  hill-side 

Drank  in  the  streams  of  human  gore, 
When  fell,  like  grass,  the  British  pride, 

Our  fathers'  sturdy  front  before, 
If  to  a  demon,  all  they  won 

Posterity  surrenders  up, 
And,  for  the  chains  of  Albion, 

Assumes  the  fetters  of  the  cup? 


TIMIMUANCE    JUBILEE    HYMN.  231 

While    Freedom  calls  hef  millions  out, 

And  stirs  her  trumpet  from  its  sleep, 
Ami  round  her  rallies  song  and  shout, 

Her  sacred  festival  to  keep; 
"While  Commerce  halts  its  endless  wheel, 

And  Politics  have  leave  to  play, 
And  Labor  quits  the  ringing  steel, 

Resolved  for  sober  holyday, — 

Shall  not  the  Jubilee  be  kept, 

Of  Liberty,  restored  again 
To  fathers,  brothers,  sons,  who  wept 

Beneath  a  worse  than  regal  chain  ? 
Shall  not  Te  Deums  rise  to  God,  — 

Who  snapt  and  crushed  its  hateful  links, 
And  deep  in  dust  the  tyrant  trod  — 

From  every  soul  that  feels  and  thinks  ? 

Our  Declaration  ?  —  't  is  the  Pledge  ; 

Our  Sword's  good  work  ?  —  the  silent  Still  ; 
The  foe,  in  "Ardents,"  felt  its  edge, 

lint  found  "Tee-total"  Bunker  Hill! 
Our  Monument!  0  God,  it  soars 

Above  all  granite  shafts  or  domes ; 
Eternal  token  on  our  shores, 

Of  countless  happy  hearts  and  homes  ! 


232  to  G. 


TO    G 


AN   ADVOCATE   FOR  TEMPERANCE,   WHO,   BY   CONSPIRACY,    WAS    DECEIVED 
INTO   A   TEMPORARY   RELAPSE. 


Victim  of  malice  —  not  of  lust  — 
On  holy  Truth  yet  seen  to  stand,  — 

Thou  hast,  my  friend,  as  at  the  first, 

With  my  whole  heart,  my  warm  right  hand. 

Not  less  a  dreadful  champion  thou, 

That  spiteful  serpents  bruised  thy  heel; 

The  head  and  heart  are  fitter  now,  — 
With  surer  lance  and  truer  steel. 

Let  not  remorse,  that  comes  to  all 
Who  sin,  afflict  thy  gentle  soul; 

Nor  thus  for  an  imagined  fall, 
Let  drops  of  mighty  anguish  roll. 


to  o.  233 

Thou  hast  not   sinned  !    but  wicked  hands 
Incarnadined  with  blood  they  've  spilt, 

Which  all  the  seas  that  wash  all  lands 

Can  never  cleanse  —  have  wrought  the  guilt. 

And  Heaven,  who  this  sore  trial  sent, 
Thy  sterling  wortli  will  well  assure ; 

And  Christ,  who  o'er  the  furnace  bent 
Refining,  sees  the  silver  pure. 

Thou  ledd'st  the  host,  thou  ledd'st  the  van, — 
Then  blazed  the  eternal  aegis  there !  — 

For  sacred  Truth,  for  Woman,  Man, 

For  God  —  till  round  thee  closed  the  snare. 

Hell  revels !  yet  thou  leap'st  from  earth, 
With  wrathful  brow  and  flashing  eyes ; 

What  storms  of  blows  that  change  its  mirth 
To  shameful  tears  and  coward  cries ! 

Again,  by  thee,  in  glory's  field, 

Truth's  awful  standard  is  unfurled; 

The  tongue,  that  like  a  trumpet  pealed, 
Again  with  clangor  shakes  the  world. 

1845. 

20* 


234  slips. 


SLIPS. 


"It  is  a  hard  matter,"  said  Prudence,  "  for  a  man  to  go  down 
into  the  Valley  of  Humiliation,  and  to  catch  no  slip  by  the  way." 
So  he  began  to  go  down,  but  very  warily ;  yet  he  caught  a  slip 
or  two.  —  The  Pilgrim's  Progress. 

They  say  'tis  dangerous  to  ascend 

The  giddy  steps  of  wealth  or  fame ;  — 

Yet  him  I  count  a  chosen  friend, 

Who,  harmless,  leads  me  down  the  same. 

For,  turning  from  those  shining  heights, 
We  're  apt  to  halt  upon  the  thigh ; 

And  grieve  to  see  our  fair  delights 
For  ever  from  the  landscape  fly. 


BLIPS.  181 


Unreconciled  our  stubborn  pride, 
Rebellious  with   tin-   heart   ami  lip, 

There  's  danger  down  the  slippery  side 
That  our  weak  footsteps  catch  a  slip. 

To  sense.  *t  fa  difficult,  I  own, 

Some  unexpected  good  to  meet  — 

To  sit,  unmoved,  in  Fortune's  throne, 
And  walk  on  gold  with  steady  feet. 

More  difficult,  I  deem  his  ways 

Whom  Trial  sternly  bids  come  down 

I  praise  the  first ;  him  most  I  praise, 
Who,  honestly,  abides  its  frown. 


23G 


ASPIRATIONS    IN    THE    PULPIT. 


ASPIRATIONS  I N   THE   PULPIT 


O  Jesus,  while  implores 
The  Our  Invocation  grace, 

invocation.       Come !  for  't  is  Christ  within  the  doors 
That  makes  the  holy  place. 

O  Jesus,  while  I  Read, 

Reading  the  Each   t0    th7    W°rd   incline  ' 

Scriptures.        And  bid  the  rays  that  upward  lead, 
Flash  down  on  every  line. 


Singing. 


O  Jesus,  show  the  Choir 

How  soul  and  song  may  chord, 

That  they,  attempting  David's  lyre, 
May  truly  praise  the  Lord. 


AM'IU.VriONS    IN    Till.     PULPIT. 


l>:;: 


()  Jesus  to  thy  feet 

We,  stained  with  guilt,  repair; 

Prayer 

But  blood  has  bathed  the  Mercy  Seat, 
And  thou  wilt  hear  our  Prayer. 


The 
Sermon. 


0  Jesus,  while  I  Preach, 
With  tears,  a  soul  to  gain, 

Thou,  who  art  only  Wisdom,  teach, 
Or  all  the  work  is  vain. 


Prayer. 


Benediction. 


O  Jesus,  hear  us  Pray 

For  grace  that  sweetly  wins  ; 
And  that  Thy  blood  will  wash  away 

Our  sanctuary  sins. 

0  Jesus,  as  we  part, 

Communion's  seal  impress ; 

And  shadow  every  humble  heart  — 
A  Trinity,  to  Bless. 


238  TRUE    SCIENCE. 


TRUE    SCIENCE. 


Could  I  name  every  curious  root, 

And  every  floweret  call, 
From  cedar  of  gray  Lebanon 

To  hyssop  on  the  wall  — 
What  were  my  boasted  knowledge  worth 

Above  a  shining  show, 
Did  I  not,  by  true  science  taught, 

The  Root  of  Jesse  know? 

Could  I  with  Chaldee's  sages  rove 

O'er  all  the  starry  plain, 
And  all  the  shining  world  explore, 

Sought  out  till  now  in  vain  — 


GO!      DREAM    OK    BY-PAST    HOURS.  239 

What  boots  it,  if  its  brightest  gem 

Heaven  give  not  to  my  eyes  — 
And  ne'er  to  my  ecstatic  view 

The  Star  of  Jacob  rise? 


GO!    DREAM    OF    BY-PAST   HOURS 


Go!  dream  of  by-past  hours: 

In  retrospect  once  more 
Pluck  fancy's  gayest  flowers, 

And  revel  in  thy  store. 
Go,  seek  thy  native  cot, 

Scene  of  affection  free, 
Where  pleasure  cheered  thy  lot, 

Where  love  was  all  to  thee. 

Do  this,  but  never  tell 

The  heartless  world  thy  dream; 
Its  scorn  would  hope  dispel, 

Would  crush  the  fairy  theme : 


240  LUCY    ANN,    AT    SIXTEEN. 

Do  this,  but  in  thy  breast 
Let  each  fond  wish  expire ; 

For  sorrows  unreprest 

Are  his  who  loves  the  lyre. 


LUCY    ANN,    AT    SIXTEEN. 


While  opens,  Lucy  Ann,  on  you 

The  world's  alluring,  witching  smile, 
While  flowers  of  every  form  and  hue 

Spring  forth,  your  pathway  to  beguile,  - 
Dear  Lucy,  in  the  pleasant  dawn 

Of  hope,  may  real  bliss  be  seen, 
And  bland  contentment  gild  your  morn, 

And  peace  be  yours  at  fond  Sixteen. 

Life  's  but  a  flower,  how  frail  the  bloom ! 

It  charms  without,  within  is  there 
The  worm  that 's  nourished  to  consume, 

The  foe  of  beauty,  baneful  Care: 


LUCY    ANN,    AT    B1XTEEN. 


LM1 


Far  from  your  bosom  be  the  earei 

That   lurk   with  cold  forbidding  mien, 
And.   0   kind    Heaven!    avert   the   snar<> 
That  fullv  spreads  tor  gay   Sixteen. 

Though  cloudless  suns  lor  thee  may  rise, 

And  bright   the  joys  that  for  thee  shine. 
( ).  who  may  say,  these  beauteous  skie-. 

These  cloudless  sun-  shall  long  be  thine  ? 
Yet   long  may   these   your  day   illume. 

And  may  no  storm,  with  rigor  keen. 
Assail  the  flower  that  loves  to  bloom 

On  the  fair  cheek  of  sweet  Sixteen. 

The  fairy  form  must  lose  its  grace, 

The  sparkling  eye  must  know  decay, 
Time  will  each  youthful  charm  efface 

ka  evening's  robe  obscures  the  day; 
Yet.  while  meek  candor  loves  to  dwell 

Those  lips  upon,  and  truth  is  seen, 
Lucy  !    these   grace-   long  shall  tell 

The  fadeless  charms  of  bright    Sixteen. 


Affection  cheers  our  pathway,  wild. 
Yet  oft  it  dies,  alai  !   how  soon  — 
21 


242  RELIGION    AND    RUM. 

The  star  that  on  Love's  morning  smiled, 
Shines  coldly  on  its  dying  noon ; 

Yet  Lucy !  while  the  chaste  caress 

Of  friendship,  soothes  life's  sorrows  keen, 

Still  may  affection  richly  bless 

Your  path,  when  fled  is  gay  Sixteen. 


RELIGION   AND    RUM 


An  old  Turk,  learning  that  we  were  Americans,  inquired  if  it 
was  true  that  we  sent  out  Missionaries  to  convert  the  Mohamme- 
dans, in  ships  laden  with  wine  and  spirits  ?  —  De  Kay's  Sketches 
of  Turkey. 

The  Christian  flouts  the  turbaned  Turk ; 

Why  mocketh  he  at  us  ? 
He  sendeth  hither  proud  ships  with 

A  blessing  and  a  curse. 

His  spangled  flag  flings  out  its  stars 

Most  bravely  on  our  seas : 
And  we  beneath  those  stripes  may  pray, 

Or  traffic  —  as  we  please. 


i:i  LIGION    AND    RUM. 


243 


C'au  the  same  wella  of  Araby 

Yield  sweet  and  bitter  too? 
These  dumb  dogs  —  laugh  they  at  our  beards  ? 
Great  Allah!  yes,  they  do. 

u  Ho !  eome,  and  win  the  gems  of  Heaven ! " 
Their  dark-robed  Mollahs  cry  ; 
Then  shout  their  fellows  — "  We  have  Rum, 
And  Brandies;  will  ye  buy?" 

"  Kneel  to  Messiah !  yours  are  crowns ; 

Reject  —  naught's  left  but  hell;" 
u  Here  's  fourth  proof —  real  New  England,  sirs  ; 

Try,  for  we  want  to  sell!" 

Prophet!  how  would  these  muftis  smile, 

Should  we  to  Christ  incline ; 
Not  less  their  joy  if  we  exchange 

Good  sequins  for  their  wine. 


Houris  !  be  ours  the  precepts  which 

Content  the  faithful  Turk, 
Rather  than  creeds  in  which  base  gold 

Is  ever  found  to  lurk. 


244  MILLENNIAL    MORN  ! 


MILLENNIAL  MORN!  THY  ROSY  BEAMS 


Millennial  morn!  thy  rosy  beams 
Already  break  and  shine  on  high ; 

And  from  his  couch  the  Day-spring  seems 
To  rush  and  glance  along  the  sky. 

Error  its  mantling  cloud  rolls  back, 
And  fast  and  far  fly  shades  of  night ; 

The  wheels  are  heard  whose  living  track 
Is  marked  by  Resurrection's  light. 

'T  is  glorious,  thus,  our  conquering  God ! 

To  greet  the  chariot  of  thy  Son  ; 
Oh,  who  that  hath  his  war-plain  trod, 

Would  ever  toils,  so  noble,  shun  ? 


BY    WHOM    (>F    ALL    THY    CHOSB1T,    LORD.      245 

Gird  on  thy  sword,  most  Mighty  !    BWftJ 

The  sceptre  of  unquestioned  rule  ; 
And  marshal  on  thy  glorious  way 
The  Bible,  Tract,  and  Sunday-school. 

Not  only  age,  but  youth,  the  call 

Shall  hear,  and  hasten  where  unfurled 

Thy  banners  wave  on  Zion's  wall, 
Symbols  of  freedom  to  a  world. 


BY  WHOM  OF  ALL  THY  CHOSEN,   LORD 


By  whom  of  all  thy  chosen,  Lord, 
Wilt  thou  the  promised  temple  build  ? 

Shall  angel  legions  seize  the  sword, 
Nor  sheath  it  till  the  toil's  fulfilled? 

Earth's  monarchs  —  in  thy  cause  shall  they 
With  banners  rally  to  the  strife? 

And  win  with  worldly  arms  the  day, 
And  take  with  spear  the  crown  of  life  ? 
21* 


246     BY   WHOM    OF   ALL    THY    CHOSEN,    LORD. 

Oh,  not  by  the  embattled  throng, 
"Who  travel  on  in  fields  of  light, 

Nor  by  Earth's  monarchs,  marshalled  strong, 
And  burning  for  the  glorious  fight  — 

But  such  as  we,  and  feebler  far, 
Shall  in  thy  Name  subdue  the  foe ; 

And  weapons  simple  as  these  are, 
Be  strong  in  Thee  to  lay  him  low. 

As  faithful  warriors  of  the  cross, 
We  ne'er  can  faint  nor  falter,  since 

"We  count  all  conquest  else,  but  loss, 
And  love  beyond  all  else,  our  Prince. 


INVOCATION. 


247 


INVOCATION. 


Wl  ask  Thee  not,  O  God  !   to  bow 

Thy  heavens,  these  sighs  to  hear; 
To  those  fair  seats  of  life  and  song 

They  fly,  and  reach  thine  ear; 
For  thou  art  condescending  still, 

When  suppliants  come  to  Thee ; 
Though  thy  pavilion  is  the  cloud, 

And  low  and  poor  are  we. 


Thou  know'st  we  tabernacle  where 

Envy  and  wrong  abound  ; 
In  bosoms  of  our  dearest  trust 

Deceit  is  oft'nest  found. 
Thou  know'st  that  man  to  fellow  man 

Is  oft  the  direst  foe ; 
The  streams  of  kindness  in  his  soul 

Are  tainted  as  they  flow. 


248  INVOCATION. 


For  who  hath  pillowed  all  his  heart 

On  seeming  honor's  breast, 
Nor  found,  in  sorrow's  bitter  doom, 

That  refuge  but  a  jest? 
Who  ever  sought  some  lofty  hope, 

And  said,  here  is  my  stay, 
Nor  saw  how  like  the  summer  sun 

It  passed  in  clouds  away  ? 

Yes,  he,  the  heritor  of  ill, 

In  silence  must  it  bide ; 
The  world  that  wrings  out  bitter  tears, 

Will  yet  those  tears  deride. 
But  Thou,  0  God!   art  not  of  clay; 

To  shield  the  wretch  is  thine ; 
'T  is  good  to  tell  our  cares  to  Thee, 

Who  will  to  help  incline. 

Man  may,  in  selfishness,  console 

The  hapless  child  of  need ; 
Yes,  and  bind  up  the  broken  heart 

When  interest  prompts  the  deed ; 
But  Thou  lov'st  those  who  know  Thee  not, 

And  thus  dost  man  reprove ; 
Thou  art  —  and  there  is  none  beside  — 

Disinterested  Love. 


sin.  249 


SIN. 


Immortal  Sin,  of  heavenly  birth! 

With  angels  nursed  till  hurled  to  fire  ; 
Thence   creeping  to  deceive   the   earth  — 

What  art  thou,  serpent?  —  what  thy  :«ire ! 

I  know  not,  nor  till  blasts  are  blown 

From  that  high  trump  which  wakes  the  world 

Shall  mortals  see  thy  dreadful  throne, 
Or  pierce  the  cloud  that 's  o'er  thee  curled. 

I    know   not  —  but   thy   slave   I've  been; 

Ken  now,  redeemed,  I  feel  thy  power. 
I   burn  with  blushes,  that   from   Sin 

I  ne'er  have  found  release  one  hour. 


250  sin. 

Some  walk  below  on  Beulah's  ground; 

This  side  of  heaven  they  catch  the  gales ; 
It  may  be  so  —  yet  I  have  found 

That  o'er  Perfection  Sin  prevails. 

Looks  not*  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  All 
With  wonder  on  his  ruined  plan? 

The  loss,  beginning  at  the  fall  — 

The  Death  that  lives  where  lives  a  man  ? 

Look  not  the  blessed,  in  surprise, 
On  systems  rolling  'neath  a  curse  ? 

Oh!  in  those  sweet  angelic  eyes 

Stands  not  one  tear  of  grief  for  us ! 

Mysteriously  art  thou  entwined 
With  all  I  think  and  say  and  do; 

Affection,  will,  and  soul  and  mind, 
The  poison  feel,  and  love  it  too. 

My  heart  is  but  a  battle-field; 

It  has  been  so  since  hope  was  mine  — 
Sword  crosses  sword,  shield  rings  to  shield ; 

Infernal  influence  meets  divine. 


-IN. 


->:>  i 


Thou  hast  my  father,  mother  slain  ! 

They  seized  the  promise  and  an-  blest  ; 
Destroyer,  thou  hast  come  again  — 

My  babe,  my  cherub  is  at  rest. 

And  thou  hast  killed  the   Lamb  of  God! 

The   Roman  reared  the  felon  tree, 
The  Jew  exulted  in  his  blood  — 

I  charge  the  horrid  crime  on  thee. 

Ne'er  idly  talk  of  roofs  of  gold, 
Inlaying  heaven's  eternal  dome  ; 

Or  gates  of  pearl,  whose  leaves  infold 
The  righteous  in  their  happy  home ; 

Nor  of  the  rubies,  emeralds,  gems. 
That  blaze  like  suns  amid  the  host 

Whose  myriads  veil  their  diadems 
To  Father,  Son,  and  Holv  Ghost ;  — 


But  tell  me  of  a  world  so  bright 
That  Sin — a  dark  intruder  there  — 

Would  die  in  its  excess  of  light  — 

And  that 's  the  heaven  which  I  would  share  ! 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY 

HVVK     rOR     8ALK     IN     RICH     BINDIN08, 

THE   POETICAL  WORKS 

OF 

REV.    WILLIAM    B.    TAP  PAN 

COMPLtTB  I  X     FOUR  TOLUMEB,  TIZ.: 

POETRY   OF   THE   HEART; 

SACRED   AND   MISCELLANEOUS   TOEMS  ; 

POETRY   OF   LIFE; 

THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL   AND  OTHER    POEMS. 


